Stained Red
by TheBrightestNight
Summary: Think Romeo and Juliet. Only without the "forbidden" in their forbidden romance, and with vampires. Of course, you can't have vampires without vampire hunters. • Emerald Song and Storm Kallahan are definitely not normal. It's more than just secrets (though, that's definitely a big part) and forbidden(-less) relationships. No, it's also pain, grief, loss, and a mutual understanding.
1. Scandal

**So, I'm at it again, with another re-write. This time for, as you can tell, my Night World stories. After re-writing my PJO story (Story of My Life** → **It's the Perfect Story), I read over these stories and didn't like the writing or characterization at all (same thing happened with my PJO story).**

 **A lot of things about me have changed since I wrote and finished Nameless Faces and started Cold Comfort. Because I've changed, so has my writing style. I feel bad for not finishing Cold Comfort, but like I said, things have changed and I don't like my writing or characterization. I will, however, be keeping the other stories up because I'm too attached (though, I may take them off at some later point in time).**

 **So, here I am, doing another re-write. The Emerald and Storm you knew are going to be completely different, and so will the story/plotline. I can't wait to see what you think of all of it!**

 **TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of suicide.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

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" _No mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips; betrayal oozes out of him at every pore." Sigmund Freud_

Scandal

The rumors were false.

This reputation of being easy had started when one of the boys she'd done a project with said she'd slept with him at one point. Most likely because he'd lost a chunk of time during one of their study sessions—a blank space in his memory that started with Emerald going over to his house and ended when he woke up, his mom telling him he'd fallen asleep so Emerald had left. She hadn't slept with him, she'd fed on him. Being a vampire, it was something that was vital to her survival. But wanting a somewhat normal life, she couldn't kill her victims.

Not that she ever wanted to. She'd seen enough killing in her life.

So, Emerald figured that to make himself look good (he wasn't a very popular kid and this was high school) he'd made up that rumor. Now it was her "type"—guys with cute, boyish looks, quite, unpopular, and studious. To be fair, that was who she picked to feed on, for personal reasons, but the rumor didn't make that any less annoying.

The rumors were actually the reason she'd been kicked out of her old school. Some of the guys who weren't "getting any" had cornered her at her locker one day. The leader of the group had pushed her against the lockers and tried to get a hand under her shirt, so she'd broken his nose. She would've broken his arm and maybe kicked him in the groin, too, but seeing as the justice system had come down with a horrible affliction called Victim Blaming, Emerald decided against it. A broken nose she could explain and get out of without too much trouble, hence the expulsion. A broken arm and serious damage to the groin would be a bit harder and include more than just expulsion.

Emerald hated moving schools. It was stressful and taxing. It wasn't really that the rumors bothered her so much, rather, she hated rumors and gossip in general. It was also so petty and vindictive. Did humans honestly have nothing better to do than say nasty things about other people?

In any case, this one particular rumor, she had to admit, did help her feed easier, and made it even easier to lure them into her waiting web.

And maybe this move wasn't so bad, really. She was only changing schools, not districts. To be honest, she was mildly surprised the district had even let her attend one of their other schools after what happened at her last one. Fortunately, she stayed close to home, much to her Aunt's appreciation. Unfortunately, that meant the rumors followed her, like a puppy.

First day of school and there were people already whispering to each other as she passed them in the hallways. Girls and boys alike. With her vampiric hearing, she knew exactly what they were saying. Mostly petty stuff, your average—she's not _that_ pretty, she's a slut, she's easy; bets on who could get into her pants by the end of the day (even with her "type"), blah, blah, blah. She'd heard it all.

A girl to her left, standing next to her open locker with some of her friends (a mix of guys and girls) scoffed.

"Maybe she should get with that suicide kid," she murmured. That made Emerald falter in her steps and slow to stop. That was new. Who was this kid they were talking about, she wondered.

One of the guys laughed. "A match made in Hell."

Emerald turned her head slowly to look in their direction. The group collectively jumped and quickly averted their gaze. The girl who'd spoken closed her locker, hugging her books to her chest.

"Uh…come on guys, class is about to start," she murmured, a little flustered. Her eyes darted up to Emerald, who was still staring at the group. She quickly averted them again and started walking off. The group followed, throwing glances back at the strange raven-haired girl still staring at them with eyes as black as dark roast coffee.

Emerald watched the group go as the bell rang. She made no move to get to class, though, as students started toward their respective rooms. Soon, she was left in an empty hallway, with one or two kids darting into their classroom worriedly just as the second bell rang, signaling the start of first period.

Her mind still pondering the kid they'd mentioned, she slowly made her way to her first class—AP Psychology.

She opened the door as the teacher opened her mouth, just about ready to start the lecture. The lights were already turned off and she had a clicker in her hands so she could move around freely and change the slides.

The woman, Mrs. Grant, closed her mouth and looked at the girl coming into the classroom.

"Do you mind if I turn on the lights?" Emerald asked. Mrs. Grant shook her head. Emerald turned and flicked the switch before going up to the teacher. "I'm sorry for the interruption. I'm Emerald Song. I just transferred here."

Mrs. Grant's confusion cleared and Emerald could see the frost form in her eyes.

"Oh, yes, I've been made aware of your arrival," she said a little crisply. Clearly it wasn't just the students who gossiped here. "You're five minutes late to class. Not a very good first impression, Miss Song." The class snickered, some kids leaned across the aisle to whisper to their friends.

It was your standard, cookie-cutter set-up, with rows of desks with the chairs connected to them, facing the front of the room. The teacher's desk was across from the door, in the corner.

Emerald smiled easily, ignoring the whispers, used to this. "I apologize, I got lost. It won't happen again."

Mrs. Grant blinked like she was expecting more trouble or a snappy comeback. "Well, why don't you take a seat so we may begin our lesson?" She gestured to the rows of chairs. Emerald nodded and turned toward the classroom, looking for an open spot. She found one a little past the middle of the room, between a strawberry blonde with perfect make-up and on-point winged eye-liner, and a guy with shortish wavy, dark hazel hair and startling electric blue eyes.

She made her way back carefully, stepping over backpacks and past people trying not to hit them in the face with her backpack.

"Caleb, could you get the lights, please," Mrs. Grant asked as Emerald slid into her seat and got out her notebook.

Emerald's next two periods were quiet. She went along, unassuming. Of course there were whispers here and there, but they weren't serious. No one went out of their way to introduce themselves or befriend the new kid (or, rather, the easy girl). She didn't go out of her way to make friends. She preferred being a loner, it made things easier with feeding—not getting too attached to her prey…actually more like her prey not getting too attached to her. If she needed to move on short notice, she wouldn't feel bad or hesitate because of friends made.

Lunch was always easy. Since she never ate, she never went to the cafeteria. She liked finding little nooks in the library to hang out in. She liked being surrounded by books. She always had. Sometimes she'd read. Sometimes she'd do homework. But most of the time, she just sat and enjoyed the company of a million different stories and the silence. It was soothing.

However, today was a little different.

As she was heading to the library, someone approached her with a nervous smile. She was a little taller than Emerald, with deeply tanned skin, deep brown eyes that seemed to spark and twinkle with a gentle light that reminded Emerald of a fire on Christmas Eve. Her hair was a shade darker than chocolate, short, and wildly curly.

She was wearing a tank-top with the band name that Emerald couldn't read. Probably a band from another country. A short, puffy skirt, and worn converse.

"Hi," she greeted.

Emerald blinked and stared at the girl before her before turning to look behind her to make sure this girl was addressing her.

The girl laughed, her smile becoming more comfortable. "Yes, I'm talking to you." She held out her hand. "I'm Carter." Emerald hesitantly took the girl's hand, giving the girl a strange look. "We have AP English together. I wanted to introduce myself then, but there wasn't really much time to. And you left so quickly!"

"Okay," Emerald said, still not sure what to do or how to respond. People didn't usually approach her. For more than just the rumors. She was a predator, and whether the silly little humans knew it consciously or not, their subconscious, the primal part of their brain that had kept them alive this long, knew it. So most people naturally avoided her. Either this girl had no instincts or she was ignoring them.

"Would you like to join me and my friends for lunch?" Carter invited. "I know it's always hard to get to know people when switching schools. So I thought maybe I'd help out a little."

Emerald found herself nodding. "Sure, okay." Which was probably a mistake on her part. She didn't eat. Being a lamia vampire she _could_ if she really wanted to. But she'd never actually tried to before, she'd been raised on blood her whole life, so it was her go-to. Besides, just because she could eat food didn't mean it nourished her, gave her the oxygen she needed like human blood did.

Still, she followed Carter to the lunch room.

"So, why don't we just get the standards over with? No need to ask. My name is Carter Torrez. I like skateboarding and all kinds of music. My least favorite subject is history. My favorite subject is English—I mean it should be, I'm taking AP English." She laughed. "My future job is to be an editor at a book publishing company. And if you have any questions about the ins and outs of this school, I'd be happy to help. I try to keep in the know about things around here." Carter turned to face Emerald as they walked. "But don't let it make you think I believe everything I hear. I try to be open-minded about people."

Carter smiled, but Emerald could tell she was nervous.

Emerald blinked again trying to digest the information and determine what was up with this girl. Never, in her entire time at all the schools she'd gone to had someone been this friendly. Her open-minded outlook on life would explain why she'd approached Emerald in the first place, though perhaps not the instincts part.

"Uh…well, I'm Emerald Song. I like skateboarding, too, actually. I'm willing to listen to anything as far as music goes. I actually love history. I'm taking AP English because I like challenges, I've always been pretty terrible at English. I don't know that I have a future career plan right now. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. And, I actually do have one question…." She trailed off thinking about that boy that'd been mentioned earlier.

"You don't sound sure," Carter pointed out as they entered the lunchroom.

"Um, you get your food. I can ask after we've sat down." Emerald told her. Carter's eyebrows furrowed.

"You're not going to eat anything?"

Emerald shook her head. "No, I…I'm not really hungry right now. You know, nerves." Emerald tried for a weak laugh.

Carter didn't seem convinced, but didn't bring it up. "Okay…well, I'll introduce you to my friends real quick, then. If you feel like your appetite is coming back, I'll be happy to share some of my food with you." She said as she scanned the lunchroom. Carter smiled and waved when she saw them. Emerald jolted when Carter grabbed her hand and started pulling toward the table in the middle of the room. The voices were almost overwhelming, but Emerald swallowed hard and pushed it all out. She's faced much, _much_ worse before. She could handle a room full of teenagers.

Though, this was one of the many reasons she liked spending her lunches in the library.

The table was large, but there were only a few people sitting at it. Emerald had a feeling, though, more would soon join them.

Carter introduced Emerald to her friends currently at the table—Danny, Mackenzie, Arnold, Felicity, Jack, and Sandy. Emerald wasn't sure how important it was to remember all their names because she wasn't even sure if she was going to be hanging out with them for the rest of the year. She wasn't even sure if she was going to be here at the school for that long.

Emerald sat down a little awkwardly, trying for a smile, not sure how well she was succeeding. Carter ran off to get her food and Emerald tried to make small talk with the other people. They weren't as friendly or welcoming as Carter was. Emerald wasn't sure if it was because they'd heard the rumors or if they were just wary of the newcomer. Or both. Or maybe their instincts were screaming at them.

When Carter arrived back, the tension diffused a little. She started chattering excitedly, which got everyone talking more animatedly and easily. Emerald just sat back and listened to their conversations, watching them talk. As Emerald had suspected, more of Carter's friends showed up with their trays of food as well.

Humans had always fascinated her. It wasn't like she was centuries old or anything, she was as old as they all were—sixteen, seventeen. But she could stop aging when she pleased, which meant if she wanted, she could be immortal. Of course, as a vampire, she was basically immortal. As a lamia vampire, though, she could blend in with the humans much better than a made one could. Which made feeding much easier. She never had to risk going out on the streets and being attacked by hunters.

At one point, when the students had filtered out and it had gotten quieter, Carter turned toward Emerald.

"Oh, I forgot, you wanted to ask me about something?" she asked.

Emerald herself had almost completely forgotten, too. "Oh, it's…not important." Emerald shook her head and looked away, rubbing her arm nervously. It wasn't so much that she was nervous, but she figured out, from watching them so much, how to act certain emotions, how they were expressed in the body and on the face. And a subject as touchy as she wanted to ask about, she wasn't sure asking outright without even a little hesitation would make Carter answer honestly, or at all.

Carter put a hand on Emerald's arm, making her jump.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, quickly pulling her hand away. "I'm…I'm kind of, well…" She reached up and scratched the back of her head.

"No, it's fine," Emerald said quickly. "I'm just…not used to that." She forced a nervous laugh.

Carter gave her another strange look, but brushed it off and tried for a smile. "Just ask, I'm sure it's not bad. Besides, I have pretty much seen it all at this point." She laughed, more genuinely this time.

Emerald looked away, biting her lip. "Well…earlier, I heard some people talking." Emerald shrugged and shook her head. "Really, it's not…" She sighed. "Well, I overheard them talking about a boy that goes here. That he…I don't know—they mentioned something about"—she lowered her voice—"suicide."

Carter's smile fell and became solemn. "Oh…that."

"Yeah," Emerald said, looking down. " _That_."

Carter sighed. "Well, I suppose it was going to come up sooner or later. His name is Storm. He moved here about a month ago. No one _really_ knows if he tried to…you know…but you know how rumors are. They get started and there's just no way to stop them and they just kind of spin out of control. What I've heard is that his parents moved him up here to get a fresh start from Vegas after that whole incident. They had to stay in Vegas, so he's staying with relatives. That's what I've _heard_ , I don't know it's any of that's true. At least, the reason why he moved up here, anyway."

Carter looked around the lunch room, her eyes stopping on something across the room. Emerald followed her gaze to see the boy she'd sat next to in her AP Psych class—with the dark hazel hair and electric blue eyes. He was sitting with a small group of people. They were talking and laughing, but not as loudly or boisterously as the rest of the people in the cafeteria.

Emerald looked back at Carter, who was still looking at Storm.

"He kind of keeps to himself," Carter said. "I mean, as you can see he has friends. But…he's a quiet kid. If any of those rumors are true, I wish him the best. He seems really nice. People can just be so mean sometimes." She rolled her eyes and finally turned back to face Emerald. "Just don't listen to those stupid rumors. He's a good kid from what I've seen."

Emerald nodded silently and looked back at the boy. Storm, what an interesting name. Definitely unconventional. She couldn't get that rumor out of her head, though.

And then there was Carter, wishing the best for someone she barely even knew. How strange was that? Even as humans that was beyond Emerald's knowledge of how she saw them. Nothing compared to where she came from. Not just the Night World and vampires, but who her family was. Who they associated with. It was such a huge difference, she almost felt dizzy.

The bell rang and everyone who was left in the lunchroom started to grab their things and their trash as they stood. Emerald slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Um, thanks for inviting me to sit with you," Emerald told Carter as the girl stood too. "But I don't think I'll be sitting with you again." She glanced at the people that were left, also packing up their things and grabbing their trash. "I don't know that the others like me so much and I wouldn't want to encroach on your group."

"You wouldn't be encroaching at all," Carter ensured, grabbing her trash. "But if you really don't want to, that's okay, too. We can hang out during lunch by ourselves if that'd make you more comfortable. And you're welcome to join us at the skate park, too."

Emerald stared at the girl trying to form words. Why was she being so nice to a total stranger? A predator, no less.

"Um…thanks for being so kind." Emerald finally stammered. "I guess I'll…see you around."

* * *

 **All right, there you have it! First big change: Emerald's the vampire and Storm is the human! Surprise! I have much more in store for ya'll.**

 **Don't know if I'll be able to get onto a posting schedule, but it's summer so you shouldn't be waiting for** _ **too**_ **long for another chapter. I am working full-time and I have, like, no idea what I'm doing, so my posting schedule may not be very consistent, nevertheless.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed! I can tell you, next chapter we'll be learning more about Storm and his new characterization!**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	2. Snare

**TRIGGER WARNING: discussion of suicide.**

 **ALSO, I have never even considered suicide, so I apologize if I've mischaracterized and/or misrepresented (spoiler alert) Storm and his thoughts.**

 **I realize this is a super,** _ **super**_ **slippery slope, so if I write anything that's offensive or wrong, please feel free to tell me (civilly is preferable) and I will promptly take the chapter down and discuss solutions with you.**

 **Also, also, I am SO SORRY this took so long to get to you. I thought I'd be able to write two stories at once, and well…as you can see, that didn't happen. More post-chapter. Onto the story! (God knows you've waited long enough.)**

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Snare

The rumors were true.

Storm wasn't sure how someone had found out. Or maybe, because this _was_ a rumor, it was just speculation that people decided seemed plausible and ran with it. (Wearing long-sleeved shirts all the time probably wasn't helping his case.) Who really knew with rumors? Either way, it was irritating at best. At its worst, it made him want to drop out of school altogether.

Yes, it was true, Storm had attempted suicide. For reasons that he'd rather not think about while at school, because it only increased the likelihood of his going to the rooftop of the school and jumping from it. He knew just where to go to get there.

After that attempt, his mom and dad had signed him up for therapy and put him on suicide watch. After being taken off suicide watch, but still in therapy that didn't seem to be working, his parents had carted him up to New York to live with his Aunt Lula and Uncle Isaac. Lula was a lawyer and Isaac was a detective, so both of them weren't home often or at all. So, it was lonely quite a lot. Which really didn't help like his parents had thought it would.

It was really only on bad nights did they stay home. If Storm told them, that was. At least there was that going for them.

For that reason, he staved off the thoughts of suicide. It wasn't easy, sometimes he'd stand out on the balcony of their penthouse suite and look down at the passing cars below, thinking about how it would feel if he were to just…fall.

In any case, he did love his parents, and he knew they were doing the best they could, but sending him off because _they_ couldn't cope with their suicidal son seemed contradictory. The other reason was that they thought changing his surroundings might help with his depression. While that's not how it worked, it did help. Slightly. Only, very slightly. If only because Vegas held memories that he wasn't ready to face. New York, specifically Manhattan, was different, held no memories, but had the same buzz of city life that Storm could get lost in for at least a little bit.

So here he was in Manhattan, at a school that had no respect for other people's lives or the fact that suicide was a serious subject, and shouldn't be used in a joking manner like the kids here were using it as. It was always different when it wasn't happening to them, wasn't happening in their lives.

Somehow he'd managed to make a few friends, mostly oddballs, outcasts, loners like he was. He didn't mind. Despite dreading having to get out of bed in the morning, having to interact with people, he found that he enjoyed their company. They expected nothing from him on his bad days.

On his bad days, they didn't expect him to talk or engage in the conversation during lunch, they didn't expect a smile as they passed through the hall. They didn't expect him to be happy or not suicidal all the time. It was a change from all the gossip.

After a month, he'd finally fallen into somewhat of a pattern. Something that felt like normalcy after what happened, what had led up to and resulted in his attempted suicide.

"Hey, you heard about this new kid, yet?" Tasha asked, breaking Storm from his thoughts as she leaned up against the lockers to Storm's left. He was currently standing, staring into his locker, having meant to pull out his things for AP Psych.

And then there was Tasha. One of his friends. They had an…interesting relationship, to say the least. She was the only one here that Storm felt he could truly be himself with. If he was feeling up to it, she was the only one he'd actually smile to when passing her in the hall. It wasn't that his other friends weren't nice, it was more like him and Tasha shared a special connection that not a lot of other people could share with them.

Storm snorted as he grabbed his book and notebook before slamming his locker closed. "Who hasn't?" He looked around, to check if anyone was in hearing range of their conversation as he turned his back to the lockers so he could lean on them. "I bet you she's a vampire," he murmured to Tasha.

And there it was, the reason why she was one of his closest friends. Usually hunters didn't reveal their identities to each other (and they didn't exactly), but Storm had honed his skills so well, when he'd seen her at the school he _knew_. Knowing he could somewhat trust her—at the very least, she hated vampires as much as he did—was comforting to him in a way. So he'd gone and introduced himself, immediately telling her he was a hunter and knew that she was, too.

Despite this, some things still had to stay secret, so they didn't know who each other was while they were hunting. It was just nice to be able to talk about it to someone at school every now and again. You'd think it wouldn't be easy to keep up, what with voice-recognition, but it was surprising how much the brain failed at that when it was dark and everyone was wearing ski-masks or something similar. Not to mention focusing on not dying.

Tasha rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "You _always_ think the new kid is a vampire."

"I do not!" Storm exclaimed, offended. "Haven't you been _listening_ to the rumors going around? Easy girl, picks out the nerds, geeks, outcast kids. That's textbook vampire hunting in the school scene. I mean, maybe a little reversed since she's a girl, but the same basic principle is there."

"You're just being paranoid," Tasha scoffed.

Storm rolled his eyes, trying to think of a snarky comeback when he saw the new girl coming down the hall, in their direction. Too far away to tell right now, but she was coming closer.

Storm nudged Tasha with his elbow.

"Ten bucks says she's a vampire," he said, nodding in the raven-haired girl's direction as she ghosted forward.

Tasha looked as well, her lips pursed. "Fine."

Storm pulled out his phone to fiddle with, so as to not get caught just staring at the new kid. If she was a vampire, there was no doubt she'd be able to tell, and he didn't want her to even know he existed. Yet. It was easier that way, easier to trap her, kill her later. He had strategies for vampires who tried to feed in his territory. He didn't particularly like most of the students here, but he _hated_ when vampires killed innocent people more. When putting it into perspective, reminding himself why _he'd_ become a vampire hunter, it made it that much easier. As much as he disliked the student body, they all had loved ones somewhere who would care if they died….

The new girl was slow-going, every step deliberate, but she was finally close enough that Storm could determine whether or not he was right.

Untrained eyes wouldn't be able to tell that she was a vampire, but Storm could. The way she looked, the way she practically glided across the floor, was a dead giveaway (pun intended). Not only that, but vampires had inhuman beauty. Her light-brown skin was smooth, perfect. Her hair was pin-straight and glossy. Her eyes, though dark brown, almost black, twinkled in the terrible fluorescent lighting. She looked like she'd just come off the runway or stepped out of a fashion magazine. _Definitely_ a vampire.

"Pay up." He grinned, looking at Tasha and holding his hand out.

Tasha glared at him and made a growling noise, but pulled her purse from her backpack and produced a ten dollar bill. She grudgingly slapped it into Storm's hand, but he struggled to wrestle it from her grip.

"Am I sensing a sore loser?" he mocked, as the girl drifted past them. Storm pretended to ignore her when in reality he was hyper aware of every single step she took. He could never be too careful.

Tasha snorted and rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Kallahan," she snapped, throwing her backpack back over her shoulder and looking around the hall.

Storm smirked. "Or what?"

Tasha paused, keeping her gaze elsewhere, anywhere but Storm. Her face flushed and she cursed herself silently at the involuntary bodily reaction. Storm may be a skilled hunter, but that, by no means, meant he was good at detecting signs of a crush.

Tasha still couldn't decide if this was beneficial to her or not. Since her time knowing him, he never really was one to get involved romantically, she'd noticed. What would he say if he found out she had a crush on him? What would he do?

The bell rang, startling her from her thoughts.

"I'll see you later, Tash," Storm said with a dazzling smile before getting lost in the river of students as they went to first period.

Tasha watched as he disappeared in the mass. "Bye," she whispered, even though Storm was long gone.

Storm kept his head down and quickly made his way to his seat, settling in and taking a deep breath, but quietly. He set up his notebook and pencil before sitting back and waiting for the second bell to ring. When the lights went out, Storm sat forward and picked his pencil back up, ready to start taking notes.

Only, before the Mrs. Grant could start the lecture today, the door to the classroom opened and the new girl stepped in.

Storm stiffed, inhaling sharply, but he quickly tried to relax, hoping he hadn't just given himself away. Of all the rotten luck, the new vampire girl had to be in his first period class.

Storm started tapping his pencil eraser against his notebook in annoyance, looking around the room as the girl and Mrs. Grant exchanged some words. The lights flickered on and the empty desk next to him caught his eyes. He froze again, his tapping stopping abruptly before his eyes did a quick once over around the room before going back to the empty chair next to his—the _only_ empty seat left.

Giving up, Storm rolled his eyes and dropped his pencil down. Today was not going to be his day.

Slumping in his seat, he tried to keep his eyes on his blank notebook as the girl made her way down the aisle to the empty chair. Her gracefulness was actually starting to irritate him. Her act of being this quiet, new student only made him angrier, knowing what lied underneath: a cold-blooded killer. The face of an angel, turned into a demon the instant the blood-lust started. How could she act so _normal_?

Yeah, maybe she didn't kill to feed. Storm knew that most vampires in the school scene didn't kill their prey. They weren't stupid. But there was still the fact that her kind masqueraded around, pretending to be human, when at night they killed innocent people. It made his skin crawl, it made him sick, it made him want to leap up and shove a stake through her chest right then and there.

Gripping his pencil, Storm tried to force his mind to focus on the lecture that was actually beginning this time. He would get his chance, he would. He'd make sure of it. The only good thing to come out of today was the fact that he was just her type.

Storm took ten deep breath, quiet enough that no one— _maybe_ the vampire next to him—would hear. His rage slowly, but surely dying down enough he could focus on the day ahead. It was comforting to know that soon, he'd be able to rid the world of another blood-sucker.

Lunch finally rolled around and Storm was grateful for the break it provided. Though he thought an hour wasn't near long enough for him to recuperate before enduring three more hours of classes. Five minute breaks in between just weren't sufficient passing periods. Then again, he thought most of the school system in America wasn't up to par with how humans developed.

He met Tasha at her locker. She was still bitter about losing the bet.

"I am not," she huffed, slamming her locker and turning to glare at Storm. He tried to hide his smile and stifle his snickers. This only caused Tasha to glare at him more, but she was also pouting, which only made it that much funnier.

"I'm just good at what I do, what can I say?" Storm finally managed with a grin.

Tasha turned on her heel, her white-blonde hair nearly hitting him in the face as she did so. "Come on, we should go or we'll be late for lunch."

Storm followed with a shake of his head, easily falling into step beside her. "We can't _really_ be late to the cafeteria."

"But we can be late to lunch, the period, and I'd rather spend as much of this meager hour as I can _actually_ relaxing."

Tasha sped up her pace and Storm sighed, rolling his eyes, though a small smile rested on his lips, before speeding up his own pace.

As Storm entered the cafeteria he found himself looking for that girl. He wasn't sure why, though, it wasn't like she was going to attack someone on the spot, she seemed smarter than _that_. He hadn't spotted her when they'd sat down at their usual table, and was irritated with himself for one, not spotting her, and two, being irritated he was irritated.

"She's over there," Tasha deadpanned, pointing to his right. She had an eyebrow raised. "Is someone crushing?" she mocked.

Storm made a face, forcing himself to keep his eyes on Tasha. "Don't joke like that. I just wanted to know where she was for safety purposes."

"See, if I believed that, then my paranoid comment would be true," Tasha stated, pulling out her food from her lunch bag. "At the same time, if I were ignore it and not believe you, I have a feeling you'd be cross with me."

Storm scoffed, pulling out his own lunch. "Too late for that now, I _am_ cross with you just for that commentary."

"Oh, are you two having a couple's spat?" Kasey joked, sitting down, throwing his sack lunch onto the table. He was wearing a lime green shirt with nothing on it. It stood out against his black skinny jeans. So did his shoes, neon blue, pink, with green laces that matched his shirt. The only non-colorful thing was his hair: simple brown cut in an undercut.

Both Tasha and Storm straightened up in their chairs and looked over at Kasey like they'd just been shocked.

"We're not—" Tasha stuttered as Storm said, "It's not like that—"

Kasey held up a hand, laughing. "Wow, calm down, guys, I was _joking_. You…you do know what those are, right?"

Both Storm and Tasha started stuttering again, something about, "Yeah, of course we know what a joke is, are you kidding?" as Dana arrived to the table. She was wearing a black skirt over leggings with cats on them, with black, glossy flats and a small bow at the end to match. She also wore a midnight blue off-the-shoulder tunic top. Her long, wavy hazel hair was pulled over her left shoulder and held there with a clip on the right side of her head.

"She giving you a hard time?" she asked, putting a hand on Kasey's shoulder and giving Storm and Tasha a sympathetic smile.

"Oh, it's 'he' today, Dana," Kasey informed his friend.

"Is he giving you guys a hard time?" Dana corrected easily, removing her hand from Kasey's shoulder so she could pull out her lunch.

"Always," Storm muttered, giving Kasey a pointed look.

"Hey, can't start the meeting without me, guys," Ed exclaimed, throwing down his lunch tray and plopping into a seat. He had a simple band-tee on with jeans, and blue high-tops. His dirty-blond hair looked messier today.

"We're in high school, Ed," Kasey reminded him. "You're not a CEO yet."

"Besides, it's not like you missed anything," Dana added, pulling out her lunch. "From what I gathered, these two"—she gestured to Tasha and Storm—"are having a domestic."

Storm snorted. "'Domestic?' You've been watching too much British TV."

Once they all had gotten their lunches out, they did a swap. It was almost like a tradition they'd started doing just to add a little fun in their monotonous days. Sometimes they even bartered for food they particularly liked in the other's lunch box.

About half-way through the period, Storm finally snuck a glance over at the girl, the _vampire_. She was sitting in a throng of people near the middle of the lunch room. She didn't look comfortable at all. She sat stiffly in her chair, watching all the people at her table chatter and talk. She didn't even have food in front her. Not very good at keeping up appearances. And he thought she was smarter than the ones who'd come here looking for food.

Then again, she wasn't very smart for having come to this school at all.

"Her name is Emerald," Tasha murmured, making Storm jump slightly. He quickly turned and looked at his fellow hunter. The rest of his friends were deep in conversation about something else.

"What, no, I was just scanning the lunch room—" he tried, but judging by the look on her face, he wasn't fooling anyone.

"If you'd been _listening_ you'd know that her name is Emerald."

"Why even give her a name? It's like finding a lost animal. You never name it, because once you do, you can't get rid of it."

Tasha scoffed. "What? Did you plan on calling her 'new girl' the whole time?"

"…yes."

Tasha rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork."

Storm playfully shoved Tasha with his shoulder. "But you know you love me."

Tasha blushed and quickly looked at her food, finding sudden, intense interest in it. Storm couldn't help but laugh, but not because he was making fun of her. And Tasha, once again, was grateful that he was oblivious. Lunch carried on from there, with the five of them enjoying the rest of their lunch as much as they possibly could. Storm tried to keep his mind of that girl…Emerald, for the remainder of the period.

"So, I assume you're going to set the bait, then?" Tasha asked softly, leaning her back against the lockers next to Storm's. It was the end of the day, and he was grabbing what he'd need for homework tonight.

"Of course," he replied, closing his locker, keeping one of his books in his arms. He looked over his shoulder and there, in the midst of the river of high schoolers leaving for the day, was Emerald. Once again making her way, deliberately, at a slower pace than the group, down the hallway. For some odd reason, in the opposite direction than most of the crowd, but Storm didn't mind all that much because it helped him out.

Tasha sighed. "Come on, then." She pushed away from the lockers, merging with the rest of the teens. Storm followed, making sure to put himself in the path of Emerald, but keep next to Tasha. Bless her, she knew what he was planning without having to ask or him having to tell her.

As Emerald got closer, Storm slowed slightly, allowing Tasha to get several feet in front of him. As Tasha passed Emerald, she purposefully dropped her pen and left it there, pretending not to notice. Storm darted forward, then, to pick up Tasha's pen and return it to her. As he did so, his shoulder bumped Emerald's. Quite hard, too. Both their books we flying, but Storm's went flying on purpose.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Storm apologized quickly, grabbing Tasha's pen and his book before quickly grabbing Emerald's book. "Here." He held it out for her.

Emerald stared back at him with wondering eyes for a long moment before slowly reaching out and taking her book back. Storm tried not to show his annoyance. Why did she have to move like that? So fluidly, but slow in a deliberate way?

"Thank you," she murmured, hugging her book to her chest. Was she… _blushing_? It had to be an act. She was playing him just as much as he was playing her.

Storm forced a smile, hoping it looked genuine. "No problem." With that, they stood in unison, heading off in opposite directions. Storm jogged to quickly catch up to Tasha. "Here is your pen," he said, holding it out for her.

"Bait's set?" she asked, taking her pen back and smirking.

Storm smiled back. "Trap's ready to go."

* * *

 **Okay, so, again, I apologize for how long this took me to get out. I was focusing on my PJO story, and I didn't think I could get into Storm's mindset, then I realized I was probably overthinking it a bit. I was inspired to try and get back into it partly because I just have these great ideas I want to share with you, but also because of the reviews I got. They're absolutely lovely, and I can't respond to them through PM. I felt I owed anyone who's still reading this, so.**

 **My PJO story is still going to be my main story/my main focus, but I'll try and write for this one when I get writer's block for the other. I do have plenty of ideas, so it shouldn't be that hard. *knock on wood* So, I'm not too sure when I'll get the next chapter to you. I hope you'll be patient with me. And I hope it won't be several months from now. *knock on wood, again***

 **To Guest: First off, I want to apologize to you personally for making you wait so long to get the second chapter to you. I really enjoyed your comment, and I hope, if you're even reading this, that you'll continue to comment. And read, of course. In any case, thank you for the lovely first comment :) I'm glad that the first chapter drew you in. (Rest assured my writing's evolved. Definitely don't go read the other stories ^_^;) I'm glad you think so. I'm definitely trying XD Oh, well, I can see your point. I figured since lamia can grow like humans, they'd fit in better, you know? Oh, and thank you so much for such a compliment (the perfect part). That means a great deal to me ^_^ Yeah…again, I am so,** _ **so**_ **sorry it's taken so long.**

 **To Anonymous: Wow. Thank you so much for such a lovely comment! ^_^ I'm so glad you think so! It's so good to know that my writing's improved that much! Just…wow! Thank you! Oh, I definitely plan to ;) I mean…maybe not precisely in the way that you're thinking of, but as the story progresses, you'll** _ **definitely**_ **be seeing them. They're actually a quite important part of the plot I've come up for this re-write. You totally should! It's great fun, and** _ **great**_ **practice for writing.**

 **I just want you both to know, that your comments are the reason I managed to push through and finally write this.**

 **I hope this second chapter—if you're still reading that is! (^_^;)—is as good as the last one. Comments are much appreciated. My winter break and Jan term break are coming up, so hopefully, I'll be able to balance these two stories a little better in the near future.**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	3. Grim

**So…you may or may not have noticed, but I changed the summary a bit, because, for how violently aro I am, I'm such a sucker for romantic love stories (but, like,** _ **good**_ **, healthy romantic love stories). It's actually sometimes really annoying, tbh, guys.**

 **Anyway, enough about my struggles, onto my characters' struggles!**

* * *

Grim

Emerald checked the time on her phone before closing her locker and heading to her fourth period, history. After a few days of examining the routines of her classmates in all of her classes, she decided it was time to pick her first victim. Victim, of course, in a completely innocent sense, with a hint of joking. Like stated before, she never killed the people she chose. Besides, at a school, it was definitely not an option.

She arrived to the classroom seven minutes early. Mr. Wilkins was sitting at his desk, shuffling through some papers. Upon Emerald's entrance, he looked up.

"Oh, did you need something, Ms. Song?" he asked, setting his papers down and giving her his full attention. She nodded, shuffling inside and hugging her history textbook to her chest. She found that people were more lenient when she was hesitant or nervous.

"Um, I was just wondering," she started in a soft voice as she walked toward the teacher's desk. "About the exam at the end of the week."

"What about it?" Mr. Wilkins asked.

Emerald shifted, looking away briefly. "Well, since I only just arrived, I was wondering if I'd be able to take it at a later date, to have more time to study the material."

Mr. Wilkins's eyes flashed before his expression subtly morphed into something cold and indifferent. No doubt because of her reputation. Despite her being a good student, not disrupting the class, always raising her hand before speaking, doing all her assignments, it looked like he wasn't going to be easy on her.

"I'm sorry Ms. Song, but I can't let you off," Mr. Wilkins said. "If I did, everyone else would want me to move the date, too. If you study hard, you'll be fine."

"You see, sir, history isn't my best subject—"

"Then I suggest you get a tutor," the teacher interrupted in a clipped voice just as the door opened up. They both looked up and over to see Emerald's target: a shy, quiet kid with wavy brown hair, and who always wore jeans, a t-shirt with a collar, and a sweater vest. Sometimes, if he was feeling particularly fancy, he'd wear a button down and a bow-tie. His name was Ellis Mendoza. He always showed up to class before anyone else.

Emerald looked back at Mr. Wilkins about to argue her case, but Mr. Wilkins beat her to speaking.

"I have my decision," he said quietly, so that Ellis wouldn't hear. "We will not discuss this again."

Emerald tried not to glare at him for being such a hard-ass. "I understand," she murmured, hugging her book tighter to her chest and tuning around, making sure to frown and furrow her eyebrows as she did. She could feel Ellis's eyes on her as she made her way to her seat. As she was sitting down, she quickly glanced up at him. He averted his gaze, back to his open textbook. Emerald looked away, too, blushing for good measure. She could feel his gaze on her again.

Silently, she carefully set her book down on the desk before pulling out her notebook and a pen.

The bait had been set, now it was time to see if he'd take. She was sure he would, based on her observations of him. Unfortunately, she'd have to wait until the end of the period.

Mercifully, the bell rang. Emerald let out a heavy sigh that was drowned out by the chatter of the students and the rustling of their paper and backpacks as they packed up. Slowly, she started to pack up, throwing one strap of her bag over her shoulder and taking her book into her arms again. Ellis had already left, but he'd packed up slower than his usual, his eyes on Emerald all the while. A good sign. He was probably waiting outside the door.

Emerald made sure to look frustrated, with a hint of worry, as she exited. As she'd expected, Ellis was right outside the door, going up to her as she turned and started down the hall.

"Um, hey," he said, nervously drumming his fingers on the book he was holding.

Emerald looked up startled, as if she hadn't known he was there. "Oh, hey," she mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"What was that all about before class, if you-if you don't mind me asking."

Emerald paused, as if contemplating this, before sighing heavily. "Mr. Wilkins is being an asshole. He says I have to take the test this Friday, even though I've only been here for less than a week. I _barely_ know the material. And history is my weakest subject."

"Well, hey, if…if you need a tutor or-or something to catch you up on what you've missed, I…I could help you…?"

They came to a stop at Emerald locker and she quickly exchanged her books, pretending to think about her offer, letting Ellis sweat it out a bit. Finally, she closed her locker and turned back to him.

"That's really nice of you, would you really?" she asked.

Ellis smiled, relaxing. "Yeah, of course. Always here to help out a fellow classmate."

"Thank you. That's such a relief. Here," Emerald grabbed his wrist and quickly scribbled her locker number on his hand. "Just in case you forget, this is my locker number. Meet me here after school and we could…maybe go over to your place? I'd like to start as soon as possible since I only have until this Friday."

Ellis blinked, looking a bit stunned. "Okay," he mumbled in a small voice.

Emerald grinned, trying to look excited. "I'll see you later, then!" With that, she turned and started off to her next class as the bell rang, signaling passing period was over. Ellis jumped from the noise and cussed, not wanting to be late to his next class.

When the end of the day arrived, Emerald made sure to take her sweet time getting back to her locker. As she suspected, Ellis was waiting next to it. He had his backpack slung over his shoulder and was gripping the strap nervously, shifting on his feet, looking at all the teens milling around or going toward the exits. When he stopped Emerald, he relaxed and smiled. Emerald smiled back as she stepped up to her locker.

Ellis laughed nervously. "Thought you weren't going to show for a moment, there." he told her as she opened up her locker and got the textbooks she needed.

"I just got a bit held up in my last class is all," Emerald explained smoothly, closing her locker. "So, can I come over?"

Ellis nodded eagerly. "Yeah, cleared it with my parents just now. Um, I do take the bus home, though. You don't mind taking the bus, do you?"

Emerald shook her head. "Not at all."

She hated the bus. It smelled disgusting, teens were annoying, loud, and rowdy. The seats were uncomfortable and you had to keep yourself from shifting with every turn, every pothole driven over, and every stop. Thankfully, because she was a predator, and despite her reputation, people still knew not to mess with her.

After they finally reached his apartment and Emerald was introduced to the parents, they sat the bar in the kitchen and got to work. Slowly, throughout their study session, Emerald started to infuse tired thoughts and feelings into Ellis's mind. He started yawning more and blinking hard, like he was trying to stay awake.

"Ah," Ellis shook his head and took a deep breath, sitting back. "Will you, um…will you excuse me for a moment?"

"Of course," Emerald murmured, meeting his eyes and sending one more powerful thought: _sleep_. Ellis slipped from his bar stool and stumbled around the corner and down the hall.

Emerald waited for ten minutes, flipping through Ellis's meticulous notes, scanning their contents. She occasionally checked her phone, pretended to busy herself. Ellis's dad ambled into the room with a mug and emptied it into the sink.

"How's the studying going?" Mr. Mendoza asked, turning to face Emerald.

"It's all right," Emerald sighed, setting her phone down. "I just hope I can remember all this for the test. Your son takes amazing notes, though."

Mr. Mendoza smiled before noticed that Ellis wasn't there. "Where's he go off to?"

Emerald checked the time on her phone, and frowned. "He excused himself like fifteen minutes ago. He looked pretty tired, he must've fallen asleep." Emerald stood. "I'll go get him. Which room is his?"

"Just down the hall, second door on the right." Mr. Mendoza answered.

Emerald gave him a polite smile. "Thank you." She then headed down the hall. The door to Ellis's room was closed and she lightly knocked, softly calling his name. No answer. Not that she expected one. Checking to see if his parents were in her line of sight, she opened the door and quietly slipped inside.

Ellis's room was smile, but like his notes was clean and orderly. Not a thing out of place. No strewn dirty clothes, no piles of books or paper littering the floor around his desk. His bed was neatly made. Speaking of his bed, Ellis was currently passed out on it, curled up on one side, his back facing her.

Emerald glanced at his closed door, listening for the sound of his parents. When she determined the coast was clear, she went over to the side of the bed Ellis was curled up on. Carefully, she sat down on the edge, and gently nudged Ellis onto his back, making sure not to wake him. Though, with her suggestion and her telepathic abilities as a vampire, he _shouldn't_ wake up.

Emerald swept her hair over her right shoulder, out of her way, and then leaned down toward his exposed neck. She paused, taking in the scent and sound of his blood. Her fangs elongated, eyes flooding with silver in response to her primal need. Without any more hesitation, she sunk her teeth into his neck.

This was her usual way of feeding. Emerald wasn't sure exactly how the slut rumor had started, because she usually made them think they were tired and then convinced them to go "fall asleep" in their rooms. Then, after making sure they were asleep, she fed off them. Of course, sometimes, it didn't quite work out the way she wanted. Sometimes, she'd go too long without feeding and not have enough patience to do it that way. Sometimes, she had to get them to their bedroom and then simply knock them out and feed. Later, of course, she'd alter their memories a bit.

When she'd had her fill, Emerald pulled back, her features turning more human. She gently ran her fingers over his closing wounds. For some reason, that kid, Storm, popped into her mind. And that nagging feeling, curiosity eating away at her about his suicide attempt bubbled up. Much to her annoyance.

It also seemed random that she'd be thinking about it now of all times. What relevance did it have to what she was doing now? With a frustrated sigh, she looked around Ellis's room, her mind then straying to when they'd bumped shoulders in the hall. He'd seemed sweet enough. Definitely quiet, like Carter had said.

It was strange…but she felt some kind of connection with him. Like she could understand _why_ he'd attempted suicide, if it was even true!

Emerald shook her head, trying to shake off these thoughts. She should've known better than anyone to not fall into automatically believing any rumor floating around. She didn't know if it was true or not, and shouldn't go judging him for it.

She looked back down at Ellis. Time to get him up. Emerald stood and shook his shoulder.

"Ellis?" she asked in slightly loud voice. "Hey, Ellis?"

Ellis mumbled something and shifted on his bed. Emerald kept shaking his shoulder until he opened his eyes, blinking away sleep. When he realized what had happened and where he was, he bolted upright. Emerald stepped back, trying to hold back laughter.

"You fell asleep," she managed.

Ellis blushed, Emerald's own body reacting to having the same blood rushing through her veins.

"Oh, God, how embarrassing," he mumbled, looking away.

"It's all right," Emerald assured in a soft voice. "You weren't sleeping for long. We still have a little time to go over more of your notes."

Ellis nodded and threw his legs off the bed. "All right, all right, good." He stood. "Still, I'm sorry about that. I guess…I guess I didn't have a very good night last night. Or was more tired than I thought." He gave her sheepish look before leading her out of his room and back to the kitchen.

Emerald laughed lightly. "No, that's totally fine. It happens. School will definitely do that to you."

They worked for another hour before Emerald decided to leave. Ellis's parents tried to get her to stay for dinner, but she convinced them that her family would be waiting to have dinner with her as soon as she got back. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to resort to using her Power on them later in the week. No doubt they'd want to invite her for dinner the more she hung out with their son.

Ellis also tried to offer to call a cab for her, but she declined, telling him she didn't live very far and would walk. This of course, only prompted him to offer her an escort home, but she politely declined again. He might be more work than she first thought, but she also needed to feed, and finding a new target wasn't going to be so quickly done.

After finally managing to leave without dinner, a cab, or an escort, Emerald started home. Her home wasn't actually close, but she didn't feel scared walking home alone at night in New York. After all, she was the superior species. Any human, hell even any other Night Person, who dared to try to harm her would be in for an unpleasant surprise.

* * *

"You honestly can't tell me you _believe_ that nonsense," Carla laughed. She, along with a few others, were preparing to go out hunting the streets for vampires tonight. One of the guys, Andrew, decided it would be "fun" to tell a ghost story. He was from Las Vegas, had just moved to Manhattan. His sister had been killed by a blood-sucker a month ago. His parents decided to up and move, get a fresh start.

"It's Halloween, he's just having a little fun," one of the other, more weathered hunters, Dillon, said. "Don't pay attention to him."

"No, I'm being serious, guys," Andrew objected. "I'm not telling you just because it's Halloween. You've never heard of the Grim Reaper before? Ask anyone in the Vegas division, they'll tell you I'm not pulling your leg. He comes and helps hunters like us if they're in trouble. He kills vampires with deadly efficiency."

Carla snorted. "I've _never_ heard of this, so-called Grim Reaper. Besides, now's not the time for ghost stories. We need to focus. This is a serious business."

"I _know_ that," Andrew growled, getting frustrated. "I've been hunting for two, almost three, months now. But I'm telling you, as soon as I joined one of the quarters down in Vegas, they told me about him."

"Have you even _seen_ him?" Toby asked, popping into the conversation.

"Well…no, but that's what I'm trying to tell you guys!" Andrew continued on quickly, afraid of interruptions. " _No one's_ actually seen him. All they see is a dark figure swoop in, swing his scythe, and then disappear, leaving a beheaded vampire in his wake."

"Then how do you know he even exists? Who can even move like how you describe?" Carla asked. "The two people I can think of that has any capability akin to a vampire is The Cat and The Phantom. And I know for a fact that The Cat is situated here, on the East Coast. As for The Phantom, I've actually seen _him_."

Andrew gave Carla and odd look. "I've heard of The Cat, but The Phantom…?"

Carla scoffed. "What? You don't believe me? I didn't just see him, I met him. He's real all right. Unlike _your_ Grim Reaper."

"You probably haven't heard of The Phantom because he's newer. Appeared on the Night World's Most Wanted just a months ago." Jessie broke in, in his usual almost-bored sounding voice. A ghost of a smile appeared on his features. "Right up there with The Cat. I've heard he's been at this for a few years, earning himself the reputation. He's just now only made it big."

"Why do they call him The Phantom?" Andrew asked, sounding skeptical.

Kara sat forward from her spot on the couch, wanting to be a part of this conversation. "You ever see _The Phantom of the Opera_?" she asked eagerly. Andrew nodded, starting to get an idea of where this was going. "Well, he wears a ski mask like most hunters do, only he's stitched, or glued, or whatever, the mask that the Phantom wears in that musical."

"Why?" Andrew asked, confused as to why it even made a difference.

Kara shrugged and sat back. "No one knows."

"I actually asked him," Carla said, though she didn't sound proud of it. "He got this horribly sad look in his eyes and never answered."

"Well, I don't like him." Erin said, standing up, tired of this gossip and just wanting to go out and kill some blood-suckers.

"You don't like anyone," Kara muttered, crossing her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes and look away.

Erin glared down at the girl next to him, but quickly lifted her gaze and stepped over the coffee table. "He tortures vampires. I don't like that. I don't like vampires, sure, but there's really no point in torturing them either. We're here to kill them, that's all. Adding torture is just…sick."

Several people looked like they wanted to respond, but Dillon finally cut the conversation off.

"Okay, enough guys," he commanded. "We need to focus on the task at hand, right now. The sun set fifteen minutes ago, and it's growing darker by the minute. The leeches will probably start coming out of their holes. Let's move out."

They all donned their masks of choice before grabbing their weapons and filing out. Andrew, disgruntled, was last. Dillon stopped him in the doorway, his eyes hard and serious.

"I need you to focus, all right? No more of this Grim Reaper nonsense." Dillon warned quietly. "You've only been at this for a few months. I've been at it for nearly a year. So take some advice from an elder: don't go making up stories." Andrew opened his mouth to object, but Dillon continued in a slightly louder voice. "We have one job and that's to protect humans from the Night World. Don't get distracted, don't get side-tracked. Are we clear?"

As Dillon had said, tonight was Halloween. Maybe it wasn't smart to hunt on a night where people dressed up as vampires for _fun_ , but tonight Night People could get away with being more themselves and not have anyone question them. Girls and boys looking for a good time or drunk would easily follow a vampire into a dark alley and that'd be the end of that. With their power over the mind, it was all too easy.

So, in some respects, it was important to come out and protect as many people as they could. Besides, telling a real vampire from a Halloween wasn't _too_ difficult. Thanks to all the unrealistic representations in the media, sometimes all it took was one look to know if they were a human dressed as a vampire.

It was also important to stay focused. Especially because the risk was higher tonight.

Andrew closed his mouth, his jaw taught, his eyes alight with anger and indignation. However, he simply nodded once. Dillon gave him one last look before nodding and moving out of the doorway, following his comrades down the hallway. Andrew took a deep breath, glancing back at the living room before grabbing the door knob to close the door and jogging to catch up with the others.

* * *

Things had gone downhill fast. They'd been ambushed in a dead-end alley. What a way to go.

Andrew was lying in a heap, too dazed to move at the moment, having been thrown against the wall like a rag-doll. Jessie was being fed off currently, both wrists broken. Carla was trying to fend off her attacker, but to no avail. The vampire in front of her had backed her into the wall and easily grabbed both her wrists, pinning them above her head. Before she knew what to do, his teeth were piercing her neck.

Kara, trying to go over and help Carla, was thrown into the wall. Her head snapped back and made a sickening thud as it connected with the wall. She slumped in the vampires arms, who quickly took advantage of her meal.

Toby, Dillon, and Erin were the only ones left, standing back to back to back, as they were slowly surrounded by five other vampires.

"This is bad," Toby commented, eyeing the two vampires in front of him. His heart pounding in his chest, gripping his stake tightly.

"Is it, I hadn't noticed?" Erin snapped, her eyes darting to the male on her right before going back to the vampires in front of her. Her breathing was shaky and ragged.

"Just focus on not getting hurt," Dillon said, his voice steely and cold. He was the only one out of the three that didn't look even mildly scared. Determination flashed in his eyes and the muscles in his arms rippled as he held his solid wooden bat protectively in front of him.

"On three?" Erin asked.

Toby sucked in a shaky breath. "Here's goes nothing."

"One," Dillon said, glaring at the leech in front of him. She gave him a wicked smile in return, her eyes flashing silver.

"Two," Toby managed, his fingers curling tightly around his weapon.

"Three!" Erin yelled.

The three of them surged forward as the five vampires came to meet their attack, only before anyone could touch the other, a scream ripped through the air, so harsh and loud, it made them all pause momentarily in their tracks.

The girl that'd been feeding off of Kara had dropped the limp girl and was now staring with wild, angry eyes, breathing heavily, at the body of the vampire that'd been feeding off of Carla, who no longer had his head.

"That was my boyfriend, you bastard!" the girl screamed at the hooded figure standing before a wide-eyed Carla (Andrew had been right, even facing this person, she couldn't see their face). The figure's back was to the girl as she advanced with a snarl, but there was a flash of movement and the girl had joined her boyfriend in his headless state.

The figure then turned toward the vampire near Jessie, who'd stopped feeding off of the boy when his friend had screamed. He was a bit quicker, managing to actually throw a punch or two, but the figure dodged, swinging their scythe easily and beheading that vampire as well.

The five that had surrounded Dillon, Erin, and Toby had now turned toward the bigger threat. They were snarling and hissing at the hooded figure, waiting for an opening. Surely they wouldn't be able to take on five vampires at a time.

As if sensing their thoughts, the figure faced the five and held out a hand, beckoning them forward.

With growls, and snarls, and hisses, they descended upon the person. Things were a blur. Whoever this person was had to have been training since birth, because even with their heightened strength and speed, the shadowy figure had no trouble fighting all of them at once.

One by one heads were separated from their bodies until there were two left standing. One of them, realizing he was fighting a losing battle backed away while the figure engaged with his buddy. With one fleeting glance, he started turned and started to sprint off.

Dillon, Erin, and Toby tensed, ready to catch him before he could get far, but the figure had taken care of the one they'd been fighting by that time. The poor soul (vampires weren't supposed to have souls, were they?) hadn't even made it five steps before the blade of a scythe—made of wood—caught him around the neck.

The figure pulled the captive back toward them, wrapped arm around the vampire's shoulders, inclining their head to say something to him. Dillon, Erin, and Toby watched the vampire's eyes widen and his whole body stiffen right before the blade slid into his chest, piercing his heart.

The hooded figure pushed him away as he stumbled and collapsed to the ground, mummifying almost instantly.

The trio's eyes went back up to the figure, but they were gone. All that was left were the bodies of the deceased vampires, and the other hunters.

Andrew groaned and carefully pushed himself into a sitting position.

"It's probably a horrible time to say this," he started, "but I told you so."

The hunters that were awake glared at him.

* * *

Storm slammed his locker shut, glaring at Emerald over his shoulder as she passed by. Ellis was beside her. He was chattering excitedly beside her about some hilarious fact in history while Emerald listened attentively. She looked earnestly interesting, but at the same time, somehow, like she was also just being polite.

Literally _everything_ about this girl absolutely infuriating Storm. _Why_ did she have to be that way? So… _perfect_?

Tasha's tinkling laugh sounded beside Storm and he was broken from his thoughts.

"Someone's having a bad day, are we?" she asked jokingly. Storm turned his glare on her. She took it with stride. "Wow, okay, attitude check, Storm. I know you're frustrated that she hasn't taken the bait yet, but it's quite obvious she hasn't killed him, either." Tasha gestured toward the shrinking backs of Emerald and Ellis as they continued down the hall.

Storm turned and leaned against the lockers, still glaring at them.

"I know, but it makes me so mad to _know_ that she's feeding off him," he told Tasha. "Doesn't that make you even a little bit annoyed? That she's even… _alive_! When she's already probably taken someone else's life? Someone else from…their family? Their loved ones?" Storm's voice grew small and trailed off. His gaze lowered to the floor and he took a breath, trying to push away the dark thoughts that started to creep into the forefront of his mind.

Tasha rested a gentle hand on his arm. "It does annoy me. But these things take time. You and I know that, having worked on the school scene."

Storm blew out a breath, reaching up to gently touch Tasha's hand before dropping his. Tasha dropped hers as the bell rang.

"I know." Storm finally mumbled before heading off to his next class. Tasha watched him go, sadness clouding her eyes. She wishes she could help him, heal his wounds, take away the pain he felt.

But even she didn't know how deep his pain went, and that no one would ever be able to take it away.

* * *

 **Hey, so here's the next chapter. I hope it's all right. I'm kind of…slowly building up to stuff. I have ideas and main plot points, but don't necessarily have a set timeline, so it takes longer for me to conceptualize and then write them. Not only that, but also, as I've mentioned, I'm more focused on my PJO story.**

 **However, I have been trying to work on this story whenever I finish a chapter for that story, because it gives me a break from that story, which is nice.**

 **To VampyWildCat: Yep! The gang's (almost) all here! ^_^ I'm glad! It's definitely new and fresh, and so I do hope you come to like it! I can totally understand where you're coming from. I'm really glad you loved my other stories, though! That actually means a lot to me :) I've got some twist and turns that I (hope) think you're like. Hopefully, as time goes on, you'll start to also love this story XD I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from, though, and are giving this story a chance! You know, despite changing their backgrounds and the storyline, I think underneath it all, they're still the same as from my other two stories. Like I've stripped them to just bare bones, but that means the foundation—who they are innately—is still there. It'll just show in a different way now. Well, at least I hope it will show as the story progresses :) Thank you so much! It's good to hear from you again! I can't wait to hear what you think!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed, and comments are much appreciate! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	4. Collision

Collision

Sometimes, just for fun, Emerald liked to ask for the hall pass with the excuse she needed to use the bathroom. She liked to wander the empty halls and marvel in the silence, the peace. It was akin to why she liked the library, but empty halls were quieter because they held no stories. If the lockers weren't so secretive by their very nature, they might provide more stories.

In any case, it was the peace she liked. Sometimes she was tired of being around so many beating hearts, the sound of rushing blood drowning out any lecture.

Today was a bit different, though. Of course, there were some teens that loitered in the halls, skipped class, smoked in the bathroom. This time, however, Emerald heard a familiar female voice—angry, scared, but also fierce.

She'd heard that voice once before (when she'd actually been paying attention). It was after Storm had bumped into her and he'd caught up to his blonde-haired friend. She was too far away to have heard their exact words, but not far enough away to not be able to hear the sound of their voices.

Emerald slowly ambled in the direction the voices were coming from, for another voice had joined the girl's. Male, though, this time. Emerald recognized his tone of voice: mocking. She'd heard that tone many times before. It was all too easy to distinguish.

Finally she turned down the hall just in time to see the guy shove Storm's friend against the lockers. She let out a yelp as she collided, the lockers rattling. Emerald stopped there, preferring to watch rather than get involved. If things got dicey, though, she'd intervene.

"Hey!" the girl exclaimed, quickly recovering, and trying to step away from the lockers, however, she was stopped when the guy took a step toward her. He put his hand on the lockers and leaned even further forward, forcing her to back up into the lockers.

"Come on, Tasha, why don't you just hang out with me? My group?" he asked. "You're definitely pretty enough to be with the populars. Just ditch those…" The guy wrinkled his nose and made a disgusted face. "Outcasts."

"No way, Lance," Tasha spat back, seemingly unfazed by him invading her personal space. "I'm happy with where I am and who my friends are. Now, if you'll kindly step away—" She pushed against his chest, and managed to put Lance off balance, much to Emerald's surprise. That didn't last long though, because Lance got upset. He took another step forward, and grabbed both Tasha's upper forearms, shaking her aggressively.

"Don't push me," he growled.

"Ow! You're hurting me!" Tasha yelled.

Lance froze, and blinked, as if realizing just then he'd lost his temper. Taking a deep breath, he let go of Tasha's arms and stepped back. Tasha's hand twitched. Emerald could see it in her eyes, she was going to slap him, and Emerald was afraid that might make the situation worse.

"Do we have a problem here?" Emerald called, announcing her presence. Both of the teens jumped and looked down the hall at her. She saw both of their eyes widen. Lance's expression was full of shock, mixed with some fear. Tasha's, though, was shock mixed with anger. Emerald wondered what she'd done to have incited this anger. As far as she could remember, she'd never interacted with Tasha before now.

"No, not at all," Lance called back.

Emerald started forward, toward them at her usual slow, precise pace. "Really, because you had me fooled when you shoved her up against the lockers a moment ago. And just now, when you grabbed her, quite hard, too." She smiled pleasantly, but let her predatory side show through more than she usually did when around humans.

"Um—" Lance broke off and swallowed hard, looking back and forth between Emerald and Tasha nervously. He lifted his hand as if to scratch his head or point at something, but didn't really do either. "I have to—" He made a noncommittal gesture over his shoulder before bolting in that direction.

Emerald watched him go with a satisfied smile. She loved the sound of a racing heart and the smell of adrenaline in the blood. In her opinion, it made the blood sweeter. Most other vampires wouldn't agree. Of course, the amount of adrenaline had to be just right, or it'd start to taste foul.

"I didn't need your help," Tasha stated in a loud voice. Emerald blinked, remembering she was there and slowly turned her head to look at Storm's friend.

"Okay." Emerald started to turn and head back the way she came, probably having spent enough time in the "bathroom." Much to Emerald's annoyance, Tasha followed, practically stomping in her rose-pink flats.

"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked.

Emerald frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. "I didn't say any such thing."

"You were thinking it, though, weren't you?" Tasha asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

Emerald shook her head. "No, actually, I was thinking about what to have for dinner."

Tasha's heart beat stuttered and Emerald's eyes slid over to the girl just in time to see her hand curl into a fist.

 _That made her angry,_ Emerald though, turning her eyes back to the front. _I wonder why._

There was a possibility Tasha was a hunter. She had a grace about her that most hunters developed after fighting—mainly—vampires for so long. They had to be just as predatory as vampires if they were to ever stand a chance, not to mention be good at combat. If Emerald could see Tasha in a fight, maybe she could confirm this, otherwise it'd be stupid to jump to conclusions. Besides, it wasn't like she needed to worry about hunters, nor did she really care if some people at this school were hunters or not.

Having been around vampires her whole life, she knew just how cruel they could be. The lengths they'd go to. The lives they'd ruin. The souls they'd torture. Hunters were justified in their killing.

Though, perhaps they wouldn't much like a vampire using their school as a hunting ground, so Emerald would have to be a bit more vigilant. If she knew who the hunters were, she could avoid them. Hopefully, keeping their classmates alive would convince them not to go after her and try to kill her. That would just make things messy. Emerald would probably have to change schools. _Again._

In any case, Emerald would have to be more wary of Tasha from now on.

"Um, are you going to follow me back to my classroom?" Emerald asked, looking over Tasha. She squeaked and blushed. Without a word, she swiveled and started in the opposite direction Emerald was going. Emerald watched her go, before she turned a corner and disappeared. Shrugging, she made her way back to her own class.

* * *

Emerald sat at one of the tables in the library, with an open book in front of her, resting her head in her hand. She wasn't very invested in it, though. For fun, Emerald had picked a vampire novel from the library's YA section. She wanted to see how people today interpreted vampires, to see if they got _anything_ right. So far, not even close. The premise was all right, but Emerald felt it focused too much on the romance. Of course, for her, any mention of romance (and sex) was too much.

With a sigh, she turned the page with her free hand, lazily scanning the page.

Just then, someone came over and sat down. Emerald's eyes flickered up to see Carter, a bright smile on her face. This girl really didn't have any instincts. How could someone ignore them so much? It just didn't seem possible.

"Hi," Carter greeted cheerily.

Emerald straightened up, folding her arms on the table so she could lean on them.

"Hello," Emerald greeted politely back. An awkward pause ensued before Emerald finally asked, "Did you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to hang out with you during this lunch period," she said lightly. Her expression clouded a bit. "Is that okay?"

Emerald was taken aback by how disappointed Carter looked. What surprised Emerald more was the fact that it made her feel bad enough to lie and answer, "Yeah, that's fine."

Carter's smile reappeared and she reached down to pull a pile of books from her backpack. Emerald eyed the stack before looking back at Carter.

"You're not going to eat?" Emerald questioned.

"I already ate," Carter said, going through her books.

"What about your friends?"

Carter stopped and met Emerald's gaze. "What about them?"

Emerald blinked, surprised at Carter's response. "Won't they…miss you?" She leaned forward and said in a low voice, "Should you even be seen with me?"

Carter frowned, her delicate eyebrows furrowing. "They'll be fine without me for a lunch or two. And what do you mean I shouldn't be seen with you?"

Just when Emerald thought she had this chick figured out, she went and surprised her again. "I don't have the…most pure reputation. I'm sure you've heard the rumors. Won't you hanging out with me ruin yours?"

Carter shrugged, putting the books she was still holding down onto the table. "I don't care what other people think about me. If they're really my friends, they won't care who I choose to hang out with."

Emerald let her chin rest in her palm again. "Okay." She didn't know what else to say, honestly. This girl was such a mystery to her. She'd never met someone so nice before. It _was_ refreshing, but nothing Emerald had ever experienced, so she didn't quite know how to respond or interact with her. Maybe blending in here was going to be harder than she originally planned.

Carter went back to her books, so Emerald went back to hers. After who knew how long, Carter spoke again.

"So, Ellis is cute," she said. Emerald glanced up at her. Carter was looking up from her own book with a suggestive smile.

Maybe Emerald had misjudged Carter after all. It was apparent she'd heard the rumors. Not a surprise, Carter had outright told her she basically knew every inch of this school, and knew about everything and everyone in it. Could her kindness and open-mindedness really have been an act? All of it? And it'd gotten past Emerald's radar? That was even more astonishing.

Emerald frowned and sat back in her chair. "I don't understand."

"Oh, I just…" Carter looked flustered and blushed. "I meant that I noticed you hanging out with Ellis more. I'm mostly joking asking you if he's cute. I didn't mean anything by it, I swear. Is he, um, helping you with history? I hear you've got a test tomorrow."

Emerald blinked, ashamed she'd jumped to such a horrible conclusion when Carter's intentions had been completely and totally innocent.

"Oh, well, um, yeah," Emerald finally managed. "He's letting me review his notes and quizzing me."

"That was nice of him." Carter paused. "You have to admit, though, he is kinda cute."

Emerald shrugged. "I mean, yeah, I…I guess," she mumbled, looking down at her book.

They lapsed into silence. Emerald started to read her book again, resting her chin in her hand. Meanwhile, Carter was staring down at her book, but instead of reading her book, she was wracking her brain for something she could talk about with Emerald. This girl was so closed up and it was so hard to figure out how to get her to open up a little.

"You like skateboarding, right?" Carter said suddenly. Emerald looked up, briefly regretting her decision to let Carter sit with her, before nodding. "Some of my friends and I are going to go skating this weekend. We haven't decided on where yet, but here—" Carter pulled out her phone and tapped some buttons before holding the phone toward Emerald. "Give me your number and I'll text you when we have a time and place."

Slowly, Emerald reached forward and took Carter's phone. She paused a moment before typing in her number and handing the phone back to Carter just as the bell rang. Faster than Emerald thought the girl could move, Carter packed up her things and stood.

"I'll see you later, then! Maybe going skateboarding can be a reward after your test." With a smile, Carter left the library.

Emerald watched her go with wonder. Why was this girl trying so hard to befriend Emerald?

As teens scrambled to get to class, Emerald took her sweet time, closing the book, slinging her backpack over one shoulder, and putting it back on the shelf. Then she started to make her way to class.

* * *

Tasha slammed her hand up against the lockers near Storm's, causing Storm to jump and turn toward her with a startled expression. His hand was frozen, halfway to his open locker.

"Fucking hell, Tasha! What's the matter with you?" he asked, glaring at her after he'd gotten over his shock. Tasha ignored his stare, leaning against the lockers with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. She was scowling fiercely and glaring at nothing in particular.

Swallowing hard, Storm grabbed the book he was reaching before Tasha had come and started shoving it into his backpack.

"You need to start trying harder," Tasha said suddenly. When Storm looked up, he met her glower.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? Emerald. You need to start trying harder to get to Emerald."

Storm looked at her with a confused, but also slightly amused expression. "Did something happen?"

"No."

 _She answered that way too quickly,_ Storm thought. "Well it's not like I can just…go up to her," he said aloud. "If you haven't noticed, she's got Ellis right now. Also, she's much subtler about her hunts. She doesn't try and get with a guy, she asks for help with homework or some shit. I'm sure if group projects arise, she'll jump at the chance for her next meal."

"Well then become that person, Storm." Tasha growled, poking his chest before storming off.

Storm watched her go, frowning, when he felt like someone was staring at him. When he went to look, he met the deep, dark brown eyes of Emerald. She was standing in the middle of the hallway. The kids around her gave her a wide birth, skirting around her, not daring to get closer than they needed to.

A jolt ran through Storm when their eyes locked and he quickly looked away, turning back to his locker, busying himself.

How long had she been standing there? Had she heard their whole conversation? _Did they just reveal themselves as hunters?_

Storm's blood ran cold and he tried to keep his heartbeat steady, his hands moving to grab books and zip up his backpack. He could still feel her gaze on him.

Cursing silently to himself, he slammed his locker shut and threw his backpack over his shoulder. They needed to be more careful. He'd have to talk to Tasha about controlling her anger a bit better or else channeling it differently so as to not reveal to the whole world they hunted Night People.

Storm quickly headed down the hall, forcing himself not to look over his shoulder and meet the eyes he knew would be waiting for him.

The feeling of being watched didn't go away until he'd made it home and locked the door.

* * *

A skate park was one of the few places Emerald was okay with swarms of people being in the same place as her. Of course, it wasn't like it was so crowded you couldn't move, that wasn't the point of a skate park, obviously. Still, there was enough people that if this were somewhere else, she would've bailed immediately.

Of course, if she didn't spot Carter soon, she was probably going to bail anyway. She'd scanned the whole park at least three times, and despite her enhanced eyesight and hearing, she still couldn't find Carter, or her friends. She may not have remembered Carter's friends' names, but she'd recognize their faces.

"Hey!" a voice exclaimed from behind her.

Emerald jumped and hunched her shoulders, quickly spinning around to face Carter, afraid Carter might try and put her arm around her shoulders or something. Carter was grinning. Two people flanked her. A stick-thin African-American boy with very short, brown, curly hair and sparkling light brown eyes. The other person was a heavier-set girl with bob cut, golden brown hair and two different colored eyes—one was brown, the other a dark green. If Emerald's eyes hadn't been as good as they were, she wouldn't have even noticed, the green was so dark.

Carter and the other two teens closed the small distance between them.

"Emerald, this is Danny," Carter gestured from Emerald to the boy. "Danny, Emerald." Then Carter gestured to the other girl. "And this is Mackenzie. Mackenzie, Emerald."

Emerald forced a smile but didn't offer a hand. "It's very nice to meet you both."

"Nice to meet you, too," Mackenzie said with a smile.

"Good to meet you," Danny said nodding, his smile slightly smaller.

"So, why don't find a spot and board, yeah?" Carter suggested. Emerald let Carter lead the way, hanging behind all three of them. She wasn't sure that made Danny and Mackenzie comfortable, but Carter, as usual, didn't mind. When they found a little area they could call their own for the day, the three humans set their boards down and started to gear up with knee- and elbow-pads, and helmets.

Emerald looked out across the park, shifting nervously, feeling awkward, and wondering if she should just go skate around a bit.

"How do you think the test went?" Carter asked before Emerald could tell them she was going to go warm up.

Emerald looked back at Carter who was strapping on her helmet.

"Oh, I think I'll pass," she said, shrugging. "Um, Ellis really helped me. He takes very thorough notes."

"That's good!" Carter smiled. "So you don't have to worry about that anymore. You should relax and just have fun while you're here."

Emerald looked away and frowned. Did she seem tense? And it actually wasn't the test she was worried about. She was worried about finding another person to feed off of. She didn't like getting romantically involved with any of her meals, for the lack of a better word, in part because she was ace as fuck and usually when people were romantically involved, there was a sexual aspect. The other part was due the fact that making such deep connections was dangerous for her. For various reasons, all involving her being a Night Person and a part of the Night World.

"Hey, are you okay—" Carter started, putting a hand on Emerald's shoulder but breaking off and pulled her hand away when Emerald flinched. "I'm sorry…I'm—I, um…"

"No, it's fine," Emerald assured, facing Carter. "I just…wasn't prepared is all. I'm fine. I'm just worried about my grade." She forced a light laugh and Carter relaxed. Danny and Mackenzie didn't look as convinced, but didn't press it because they barely knew Emerald.

"That's natural," Carter shrugged. "Maybe some boarding will help take your mind off it for a bit."

Emerald nodded and tried for a smile again. Grabbing the large, black butterfly clip that was currently clipped to her shirt, Emerald put her hair up in it, so it wouldn't get in the way. She turned when she was done with that, and was about to throw her board down and hop on but Danny's voice stopped her.

"You're not going to wear any gear?" he asked with an incredulous, skeptical expression. Emerald looked at him over her shoulder.

"I'm…pretty, uh, good at avoiding accidents," Emerald lied.

"Not even a helmet?" Mackenzie asked, looking worried.

"Trust me, I'm… _very_ good," Emerald answered.

One of Danny's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, yeah? I'd like to see what you've got, hot stuff."

Emerald snorted and rolled her eyes, but a genuine smile spread across her lips. "All right, you're on." She threw her board down, then, and jumped on. She went toward the pool, planning to get some air and do some tricks. Definitely show off, because she was also pretentious. She couldn't help the exhilaration she felt when humans stared at her wide-eyed and open-mouthed because of the things she could do with help from her lamia vampire state.

By the time she'd finished demonstrating her prowess, a crowd had gathered. When she came back up out of the pool and slowly rolled over to Carter and her friends, the crowd was cheering and clapping. Thankfully, their instincts told them enough to not reach out and pat her on the back or shoulders as she passed them.

Emerald grinned at the slack-jawed, wide-eyed Carter. Mackenzie and Danny were better at hiding their shock, but it was clear in their eyes.

"All right, you win," Danny said begrudgingly, but he there was the hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

"That was pretty impressive," Mackenzie admitted.

"That was amazing!" Carter exclaimed, jumping excitedly. "How long have you been boarding?"

Emerald shrugged. "Only for a few months now."

Danny snorted. "There's no way you got that good in mere _months_." Emerald simply smiled and shrugged.

"Enough about me, though," she said. "We _all_ came here to skate, right? I shouldn't hog the spotlight."

"That a challenge?" Danny grinned.

"Maybe," Emerald shot back.

Danny and Mackenzie exchanged a look before throwing their boards down and speeding by on either side of Emerald, enough to stir her hair.

"I feel so inadequate now," Carter muttered, pouting.

"I'm sure you're a great skater. Besides, it's not about whose better, it's about having fun, right?" Emerald comforted.

"You gonna join us?"

"I think I'll take a break." Not that Emerald needed one. She wasn't winded at all, but after the tricks she'd done, a normal human would be, and she figured she had to keep the act up even if she wasn't panting or showing signs of exhaustion. She just hoped no one noticed, and if they saw her resting would fill in the blanks.

Carter nodded before dropping her board down and joining her friends on the half-pipe.

Emerald took a seat off to the side, watching as everyone went back to what they'd been doing before, content for now. She'd gotten her five minutes of fame. She enjoyed seeing others do stunts, too. She'd never admit it to _anyone_ , but she was impressed when they did tricks, because they were human and must have put in an inordinate amount of effort to learn the trick without hurting themselves. She could appreciate hard work when she saw it.

After about fifteen minutes, Carter was waving her over to the half-pipe with Danny and Mackenzie.

Sighing, Emerald stood and waved back to tell them she saw before hopping on her board and starting over to the half-pipe.

By this time the park had filled with more people, and Emerald was almost having to weave through the crowd. Unfortunately for her, being as cocky as she was, she was doing this and going at a pretty fast pace. And as she was rounding some kids hanging out at the the edge of the pool, she slammed into a boy coming the opposite direction. The kids had blocked her view of him.

Emerald flew forward, her skateboard flying out from underneath her, throwing the boy off balance. Thanks to her vampiric senses, she was processing this at a much faster rate than the boy was. Therefore, she had enough time to slip her hand underneath the back of the guy's head to prevent any damage caused by his skull colliding with the hard asphalt.

He let out a grunt as they both hit the ground.

For a long moment after, they laid their like that before Emerald moved, sitting up and slipping her hand out from underneath the boy's head. Now that she wasn't actively crashing into him, she realized this was the kid from her school—the one who'd been rumored to have attempted suicide.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. Had he still gotten hurt? "I wasn't watching where I was going."

The boy snorted. "Obviously."

Emerald frowned but ignored his comment. "Does your head hurt?"

The boy finally looked up and met her eyes. "Uh, no. But I didn't miss the fact that you put her hand on the back of my head before we hit the ground. Why?"

Emerald blinked, confused. He'd seemed so…quiet and charming when they'd collided in the hallway. Now he was showing a completely different side to him. Maybe it wasn't fair to him, because she only knew him as an outcast, but still. This wasn't the same person he'd presented to her that day in the hall.

"Because people can die by falling backward like that. I was trying to prevent that. You're welcome," she snapped.

It was the boy's turn to blink. Then he smiled sheepishly and became that shy, charming boy in the hall. "Sorry, I didn't mean to come off so strong. Um, I don't think I've formerly introduced myself." He held out his hand. "I'm Storm."

Emerald looked at him for a long second before taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. "Emerald." She quickly let go, while trying not to seem rude.

"Storm!" a familiar female voice called. Emerald looked over her shoulder to see Tasha coming toward them. She slowed as she got to the two, still sitting. "Are you all right? Did something…happen?" Tasha asked, eyeing Emerald suspiciously.

"We crashed into each other," Storm explained before Emerald could. "It was an accident." He quickly stood, then, and offered his hand to Emerald. Reluctantly, she took it, standing up, too.

"Thanks," she mumbled, meeting his eyes briefly before looking down. Maybe she didn't have to look very far for her next target. Though, she usually liked to use homework help or a project as a pretense, rather than form some kind of romantic relationship. It was already complicated enough with those slut rumors floating around, she didn't need to add to it herself. Though, to her surprise, Ellis, as far as she could tell, hadn't started anything.

"No problem," Storm said, smiling easily. "I'll see you…in AP Psych, right?"

Emerald bit her lip on smile and nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

Storm gave her another smile before picking up his board and heading off with Tasha. Emerald watched them go. They were conversing in low tones, too low for Emerald to make out in the rest of the noise of the park. Narrowing her eyes, she wondered what they could be talking about. Could Storm also be a hunter? He and Tasha seemed _pretty_ close.

"Emerald!" Carter called from the bottom of the half-pipe.

Emerald turned to look at Carter, who looked worried. Danny and Mackenzie were standing at Carter's sides.

"Coming!" Emerald called. Picking up her board, she jogged the rest of the way, dreading having to explain what'd just happened.

* * *

 **Wow, so longer than I was expecting. Not sure about the quality though…still, I hope it's good. I feel like it's a bit slow, but it'll start picking up soon. I'm pretty sure. I've still kind of have to work out how exactly I want this story to progress. I have, like, the second half pretty much all planned out. It's merely** _ **getting**_ **there that's giving me grief.**

 **Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	5. Fairytales

**TRIGGER WARNING: talk of torture, mention of torture, implied torture.**

Fairytales

Thierry sent one of his cars to pick up Opal, and her business partner, Teak. The three of them were having a private business dinner at one of his estates outside of Chicago, per Teak's suggestion. He had a friend of a friend manage to get an invitation. Opal and Teak had just been flown from New York in one of his private jets. It was almost over the top for a business meeting, but being the Lord of the Night World had its perks, Opal supposed. She also heard how generous he was, and was hoping to capitalize on that during this meeting.

The private jet and car were a bonus.

Opal was greeted by a butler opening her door and bowing. More formal for this day and age, but maybe having lived as long as Thierry had, some old habits died hard.

She nodded and gave him a polite smile as she stepped out. The driver was at Teak's door. They were greeted by another butler to open the front door for them. Behind him, was Thierry himself. On his right flank was someone Opal didn't recognize.

Keeping her polite smile up, she stepped onto the threshold, Teak following her lead.

"I thought we were having a…" Her eyes flickered to the woman at his side before looking back at Thierry. She was probably a few years older (in looks that was), most likely East Asian, with her jet-black hair cut in a bob. "Private meeting."

"My advisor," Thierry gestured to the woman. "Willow."

"What kind of advisor?" Opal asked, not moving, forcing the butler to keep the door open. It wasn't like she was weary of Thierry, she just hadn't expected another person. She'd heard all the stories, done her research. For having been alive so long, and the Lord of the Night World, it amazed Opal that he hadn't killed anyone. Ever. Not only that, he generously gave away handfuls of his fortune to friends in need. (It was even alleged he was trying to start another group— _vermin_ -lovers, along with other Night People. It was a preposterous notion, but not something she was going to bring up now.)

"She's my advisor for a lot of things." Thierry smiled, a little grimly, like he was telling a joke. Opal thought it was strange, but ignored it. Thierry didn't quite strike her as grim. Perhaps it was her nerves making her see things. This was a big deal: a meeting with the Lord of the Night World. "I do business in a lot of different areas. She keeps it all straight for me. Shall we?" He stepped aside and gestured further into the foyer.

Not liking the change of plans, but having to roll with it anyway if she wanted to have someone such as Thierry help sponsor a charity her business was holding, she walked further inside, with Teak at her side.

They exchanged nervous looks. The butler closed the doors behind them.

Business "dinner" was really more of a formality. As far as Opal could tell, everyone at the meeting were lamia vampires except for Thierry. He didn't serve food, but they sat down at a dining table and another butler came and poured them all glasses of a dark red liquid from what looked to be a wine bottle.

Once the door had closed behind the butler, they began their meeting.

"Your…friend," Thierry began, addressing Teak, "told me that your business is holding a charity fundraiser a month from now. What would my role in this be, exactly?"

"From your chocolate factory," Opal said after taking a sip from her glass. "We were hoping you would be one of our main sponsors, and donate some of your chocolate and sweets."

"And all proceeds will go to the charities you're choosing?" Thierry asked.

Opal nodded. "Of course."

"Why chocolate?" Willow asked.

"I don't quite understand."

"Lord Thierry has businesses in all sorts of things—from diamonds to toys to theater companies. Why chocolate?" Willow elaborated, putting her clasped hands on the table.

"We already have sponsors for all of those things," Opal replied politely. "Reilly Diamonds, Rowe Your Boat Toys, and a local theater troupe based in Brooklyn are all attending the charity event."

"Are you saying that Lord Thierry's products aren't good enough?" Willow commented, looking at Opal with unblinking, dark brown eyes.

Opal blinked, fear shooting through her. A simple meeting botched by complete accident! How would she ever live _that_ down?

"No, of course not," she amended, addressing Thierry. "Your products are the best. I imagine, however, it would look better if we had more than just one sponsor."

Willow smiled, sitting back. "Relax, I only joke."

Embarrassment rushed through Opal, then, and she struggled to keep her cool. She smiled, forcing a laugh. "She's quite the advisor," she said, looking at Thierry.

Thierry smiled. "She certainly is."

Opal excused herself to freshen up and lick her wounds. Teak excused himself as well, and a butler showed them to the bathroom. Teak followed her inside. It wasn't like they _needed_ to use the toilets anyway.

"How rude," Opal hissed, fixing her hair, looking at Teak through the mirror, who was sitting back on a small love seat. "Who does she think she is?" Opal turned and faced Teak, her eyes flashing silver. "An 'advisor?' What kind of bullshit is that? Lord Thierry _barely_ even said anything. Is that all he does? Sit back and let his underlings harass possible business partners?"

"He's probably just being thorough," Teak commented in a completely calm tone.

"Making a joke is being thorough?" She narrowed her eyes at her partner. "Whose side are you on?"

Teak smiled, showing teeth, and for a moment Opal was unnerved. "Maybe he wanted to see how you'd react to such a…joke."

"Well, I hope I passed, because I'm already feeling this isn't worth it." Opal reached up to tie her hair into a high ponytail. "I can find _better_ chocolate somewhere else."

Teak blinked in surprise. "That joke riled you up more than I thought it would."

Opal glared at him, dropping her arms. "I don't like doing business with _children_."

"He's centuries old, you know," Teak said. "He just looks seventeen. He's still the Lord of the Night World."

"I know." Opal spun on her heal, heading for the door. She'd opened it only a fraction when Teak said something, stopping her.

"Are the rumors true?"

Opal froze, lifting her head. Then she slowly closed the door. Her voice was low, dangerous. "I don't know what you mean."

"Then why did you shut the door like that?" Teak asked, pointing to the door, even though her back was facing him.

Opal glared at him over her shoulder, eyes flashing silver again. Her canines pushed at her bottom lip. "What rumors would you be speaking of? I'm sure there are a lot of rumors floating around about me."

"The one that says you informed _Maya_ of Lady Hannah's whereabouts," Teak told her, gauging her reaction.

Opal turned slowly, her body tensed like a cobra or a tiger getting ready to pounce.

Teak held up his hands in surrender, not moving from his seat. "I only ask because I think it's pretty impressive that you have such…informants. I'm glad that I'm on you're good side." Teak paused. "What would you do if Thierry ever found out?"

"He won't."

"Yeah, but if he _did_ —"

Opal crossed her arms. "Is that all you do? Listen to rumors all day?"

Teak grinned again. "I never said anything about a different rumor."

"I know where you're going with this," Opal said. "You've always been an open book. You're talking about the Ravenscroft family, aren't you? Personally, I don't think they even exist. They're a myth. A bedtime story to scare us into submission. Maya promised that in the new world, one where Thierry is no longer in charge, Night People will be able to roam freely. Not _hide_ in the shadows, letting disgusting _vermin_ rule when and where we get to go out! How we have to present ourselves! How could I pass that over?"

"Okay, point taken," Teak said, making a calming gesture with his hands.

Opal took a deep breath and straightened up, tightening her ponytail. "You won't be 'on my good side' any longer if you go blabbing about this," Opal growled.

Teak acquiesced, "Mum's the word. You'll have to tell me how the rest of the meeting goes, I'm afraid I have to excuse myself presently."

"Whatever," Opal muttered, exiting the bathroom with an annoyed hiss.

The butler who'd greeted Opal at the door led her back to the dining room. When she entered, however, only Willow was there, sitting where Thierry had been sitting before, at the head of the table. Opal started, freezing in the doorway.

"Where is Lord Thierry?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level.

"He had to excuse himself," she answered, taking a sip from her wine glass. "He got an urgent call. Where is Teak?"

Opal smiled without humor. "Funnily enough, he excused himself, as well."

"Then shall we finish up our business deal?"

Opal nodded, trying for a smile, and stepped inside. The butler closed the door behind her and she walked forward, pacing herself, before stiffly sitting down in the chair she'd been in before.

"So—" Opal began, but Willow cut her off.

"Do you believe in fairytales, Opal?" she asked, resting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her clasped hands.

Opal blinked, faltering. "What?"

"Fairytales? Stories?" Willow paused and smiled, looking directly at Opal. "Myths?"

Opal smoothed the skirt of her dress, not wanting to break eye contact but feeling extremely uncomfortable the longer they kept it. Finally, Opal looked back up at Willow.

"I'm afraid I don't follow. I thought we were finishing the…business transaction." Opal said carefully.

"Oh, we already have, actually. Thierry would be happy to be a sponsor and donate however much chocolate and sweets you need for the charity event."

"Then why—?"

"One of my favorite myths comes from Chinese mythology," Willow interrupted, sitting back and setting her hands in her lap. "A story about two lovers, where one gives the other a mirror while they're apart, so that she can see him. But she drops the mirror, and they break into seven pieces, becoming seven of the clearest lakes in China."

Opal didn't say anything, a bad feeling creeping up on her. She glanced at the door, but jumped when Willow spoke again.

"I wouldn't," she said. Opal's eyes flicked back to Willow, who was picking at her nails. "A little birdie told me that you had access to intel on Lady Hannah's whereabouts." She stopped her picking and looked up at Opal. "And gave it to Maya."

Opal's hands furled into fists underneath the table, but kept her face an impenetrable mask, devoid of emotion. "Do you mind me asking your last name, Willow? I don't think Lord Thierry introduced us properly."

Willow smiled wide, teeth showing, eyes glittering with malevolence. "Ravenscroft." She enjoyed the fear that flooded through Opal's eyes like silver usually did. She had to hand it to Opal, though, she managed to keep her face stony. "Think I'm just a scary bedtime story now?" she whispered.

Opal met Willow's eyes for three beats before she was up and out of her chair so fast, it tumbled into the next chair. When Opal glanced back, Willow was no longer sitting at the head of the table. She face front and nearly crashed into Willow, who was now standing calmly in front of the only door.

Stumbling back, Opal's chest heaving, she put on her brave face.

"So, what?" she snarled. "You do all of Lord Thierry's dirty work? Like his _errand_ boy?"

"I do," Willow answered, unfazed by the jab. "But I'm much more than an… _errand boy._ " She stepped toward Opal, who unconsciously mirrored her. "He made a promise to Lady Hannah, and I am helping him uphold it."

"So Lord Thierry isn't such a saint after all." Opal's lips curled, her eyes flooding silver.

Willow remained where she was, still absolutely unfazed. "On the contrary." She blinked and her dark brown eyes had turned silver. "He does not condone what I do. But he's a smart man and knows sometimes this is what needs to be done. He loathes that we live in such a world where this is necessary, which is why he strives to create a better world where what my family does is no longer needed. He will mourn your loss like he does with the others I have…disposed of. Despite the fact that you gave information to someone who wants to kill his soulmate. Something I would not grant to someone like you, were I to be in his position."

"I've held my own well enough in a fight," Opal growled, taking a fighting stance, baring her fangs. "I'm not scared of you."

Willow led a wooden-bladed dagger slide from her shirt-sleeve. "You should be."

* * *

The door to the dining room opened again, to reveal Willow sitting at the head of the table, sipping from her wine glass. She stood as Thierry entered, and bowed.

"My Lord," she greeted, stepping out from behind the table.

"Is it done?" Thierry asked, his voice laced with sadness, but a firm resolve. Willow had always wondered how he did it, kept peace between those two warring emotions.

"Yes, my Lord," Willow answered. "I have the information, as well, if you'd like it."

"Of course." Thierry nodded, then did a once over of the room. "I am impressed, as always. Not a single sign of a fight. No blood on the carpet. It doesn't even smell like death." Despite being a saint, he had a wicked sense of gallows humor. Something Willow appreciated about him.

Willow bowed again. "Thank you, my Lord."

"Teak is waiting outside for you," Thierry said. "A car will take you to my jet, which will return you to your home. Please relay the information you have gathered to Nilsson. I'm sorry to have pulled you away so suddenly."

"It was not a problem at all, my Lord," Willow automatically responded. "We appreciate all you have done for us in return." And it was true. Thierry was generous in how much he supported them, especially now. With that, Willow bowed once more before making her exit. As Thierry had said, Teak was waiting outside the estate for Willow.

As soon as she'd crossed the threshold, he embraced her, gently kissing her forehead, then her nose, then her lips.

"You don't have to be worried about me," Willow murmured as they pulled away.

"I'll always be worried about you," he murmured back, putting an arm around her waist and resting his other hand on her stomach. "Lord Thierry should've just let me come and take care of it. All you should be worried about is taking care of yourself. And the little one."

Willow smiled, his concern for her making her fall in love with him all over again. "You know that's not how it works. You married into my family."

The driver opened the door for them. Teak had to pull away from Willow as they slid in. He looked over at his wife, smiling but sighing a little resigned. "Yes, I know."

Willow took his hand and squeezed it gently. "You'll always be my partner in crime, though."

Teak squeezed her hand back. "I wouldn't want to be anything else."

* * *

"And lastly," Mrs. Grant said, flicking on the lights. "In the last five minutes of class, I'll be assigning you your first project. Pairs." She started walking to her desk as the class started whispering excitedly about the prospect of picking partners. Their teacher paused half-way there to glare at the class through the corners of her eyes. "And if I see anyone packing up before I'm finished speaking, which includes after the bell has rung, _I_ will be picking the pairs."

The class quieted down again, but Emerald could feel their excitement and anticipation, hear it in their racing hearts. Emerald glanced over at Storm, who was lazily doodling something in his notebook. She gazed at him a moment longer before looking back at the teacher, who was now holding a stack of papers in one of her arms.

Storm relaxed, glancing over at Emerald, and dropped his pen. That probably had to be the hardest he'd ever had to work to not look back at someone he knew was staring at him. This vampire was going to be the death of him. Of course, if he killed her first, then there would no longer be a problem. And that day was coming soon.

"Since we're going into the section about the brain," she explained, handing kids in the front row stacks of paper. "I am going to have you make a presentation with a partner about parts of the brain. You must include where they are located, their name, and what their function is. What I am relaying to you right now is all on the paper, should you forget. You can use whatever type of presentation medium you choose so long as I am able to access it. It will be due a week from now."

She paused, waiting until everyone got the paper, looking silently at the class, daring them to start packing up. The second hand was ticking down to end of the period. The heartbeats got louder and faster.

"Choose your pairs before you leave," Mrs. Grant said, before heading back to her desk. The class exploded as teens rushed to pack their things up and find their partners.

Emerald began to pack her own things up at her own pace, as usual, waiting for Storm to approach her.

Storm tried not to throw his things into his backpack, afraid it might draw attention to him, and he needed a moment to compose himself. He couldn't approach her looking angry. Of course, he was frustrated that she just _expected_ him to approach _her_ in the first place. He was also, again, annoyed with how slow she moved, how everything had to be so precise.

By the time he'd finally managed to gain his usual shy, quiet kid air, Emerald was half-way to the door. Storm's hand twitched in irritation as he stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

 _Arrogant._

"Hey," he called, managing to catch up to her right as she went out the door. He squeezed past another student to stand next to her. "Emerald, right?" he asked.

She smiled politely and nodded. "Storm."

The continued down the hall, Emerald going toward her locker. Storm's hand furled into a fist, which he quickly shoved into his pocket, hoping Emerald didn't notice. His locker was in the exact opposite direction.

"I…uh, noticed you didn't pick a partner," he said, trying to put enough hesitancy into his voice to hide his anticipation. "And I… _also_ don't have a partner. So, I was thinking—maybe—that we could pair up and work on this project. Together."

"That sounds great," Emerald replied. "Would you like to exchange numbers or meet at my locker after school to talk about meeting times?"

Another prick of annoyance flitted through Storm, but he quickly squelched it down. "We can meet at your locker," he replied.

"It's three-oh-five. Think you can remember that?" Emerald smirked, raising an eyebrow jokingly.

Storm forced a light laugh. "I'll try."

"Great. I'll see you soon, then." With that, Emerald continued forward. Storm slowed his pace, watching her get swallowed up within the rest of the rushing students. He couldn't _wait_ until that last bell rang. With a grim smile, he turned and started to make his way to his locker.

* * *

"Why is it always _me_?" Dillon muttered, holding his bat in front of him protectively as three vampires closed in on him. The rest of his group were lying in unconscious heaps around the alley they'd tried to attack the vampires in (with two new people since the other two were still recovering from the _other_ attack). The vampires were skilled in fight more than they'd anticipated, but they weren't so hungry yet they'd immediately killed any of them. Or maybe they were keeping them alive so they could torture them. It wasn't unheard of.

They were grinning, elongated canine's glistening in the shitty alley light. For as long as Dillon had fought vampires, he would never get used to their silver eyes.

The trio took another step toward him, and Dillon's back hit the wall. He readied his bad, sucking in a breath, preparing to strike out with as much force as possible. The vampires froze too, sizing Dillon up.

A musical whistle shot through the alley, slicing through the tension. Out of instinct, the three vampires looked over their shoulders, toward the sound. Dillon capitalized on this moment, not bothering with the person standing in the alley's entrance, and wacked all three of them with his bat before jumping to the side, rolling back onto his feet and facing the vampires again. In such close quarters, he couldn't get enough momentum to knock them out, but it'd certainly hurt, hopefully stun or daze them long enough for him to kill them before they killed him.

But when he came out of his roll, ready for battle, he was let down. They weren't looking at him. They were focused on the newcomer. Keeping one eye on the vampires, Dillon looked at the person the vampires were. He stood with a bat casually resting on his shoulder, his other hand in his pocket, not looking perturbed at all. Despite the terrible lighting, it wasn't hard to distinguish the white mask attached to the person's ski mask, which concealed the rest of his face. What was more astonishing to Dillon was the fact that he was dressed in a button down and dark slacks (which didn't match his black high-tops).

First the Grim Reaper and now The Phantom? Of all the rotten luck. Of course, he didn't mind the help, especially if, at least The Phantom, was on the Night World's Most Wanted. But with them also brought more danger. Hunters with big names were _always_ trouble, even if they were doing a service to unsuspecting victims.

"Nice evening, isn't it?" the guy asked, his voice just as calm as his stance.

Hissing and snarling, the vampires skipped the niceties and charged him. Dillon watched in amazement as The Phantom immediately readied his bat and swung at the closest vampire—a straight hit at the temple. The vampire went down and didn't get back up. The Phantom turned and swung into the abdomen of the one trying to creep up behind him before blocking an attack from the other vampire and shoving her back.

He turned, swinging again at the vampire he'd knocked in the abdomen: another good shot to the head.

The last vampire standing took a step back when The Phantom turned back to her. Even with a ski mask, Dillon could tell he was smiling, like he was getting enjoyment out of beating up these vampires. He remembered his group's conversation about all those big names, and how The Phantom was known for torturing vampires. Glancing down at his bat, he wondered if maybe he should start learning how to use a sword.

The last vampire was backing up, now, eyes darting to the exit. The Phantom threw his bat out, blocking her path.

"I don't think so." In one quick movement, he'd stepped in and slammed the bat into her head, the tip right under her chin. She crumpled like a rag doll.

Dillon jumped when The Phantom turned toward him, throwing the bat over his shoulder again, shoving his free hand in his pocket.

"Got a place to take these guys?" he asked.

Dillon swallowed thickly, wondering what The Phantom would do if he said no. He wasn't sure how his group felt about torture (besides Erin), and honestly, the prospect of torturing these blood-suckers sounded too good. But actually being faced with it made him kind of sick.

"Yeah, we got a place," he answered, his voice rough.

They tied the three vampires up before checking on the rest of Dillon's group. All still alive, and breathing. Only one of them had broken anything, amazingly. The others had gotten away with just cuts and bruises. After getting them up and moving, they slowly made their way back to their HQ.

The Phantom walked ahead of them, despite not knowing where they were going. Dillon gave him directions from behind, Antonio's arm slung over his shoulders, keeping his eyes on The Phantom's back like laser scopes. The other five trailed behind, carrying two of the vampires, murmuring to themselves, exchanging glances with each other, their eyes going to The Phantom every now and again.

The third vampire was slung over The Phantom's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"How'd you find us?" Dillon finally called, not able to stand the whispers behind him, silence before him, and the ragged breathing next to him.

The Phantom glanced over his shoulder at Dillon briefly before facing front again. "I've been jumping around different Lancer groups," he explained. "Trying to get a feel for the area."

"Area?" Dillon echoed.

"Manhattan," The Phantom clarified. "I'm trying to find a group…I like."

"You mean who likes torture," Erin said coldly.

The Phantom stopped, forcing the others to stop, too. Dillon glared at Erin over his shoulder. She glared right back at him.

"Please, tell me if I'm encroaching on what you've got going on here," The Phantom began, bringing the attention back to him. "I'd be happy to leave them for you to kill and find another group." He turned to face them.

"You aren't encroaching at all," Dillon finally said. Erin made a noise of protest behind him, but he ignored her. "We're almost there." Then he looked at Erin and spoke in a low, commanding voice: "If you don't want to be a part of this, then you are free to go."

With an angry huff and one last glare, Erin stormed off, crossing the street and starting down a side alley.

"I'd…better go with her. Make sure she gets to a busy street safely," Brenda mumbled, not meeting Dillon's gaze. She followed Erin, jogging to catch up to her.

"Shall we?" The Phantom asked, bringing Dillon's attention back to him.

"Let's go," he muttered, walking a little faster, tightening his grip on Antonio's wrist.

* * *

The Phantom could tell those who'd stayed were uncomfortable. Which meant they'd never tortured a vampire before. He'd heard of Lancers who liked to torture them, but had yet to find a group in Manhattan, which was disappointing.

"Do you…" Dillon trailed off, swallowing hard as he helped The Phantom lay the vampires down in an empty room of their HQ. "Do you do it for information?"

"No," The Phantom answered honestly, straightening up and taking out a pocket knife. "Would you like to stay or go? Not that it's going to make much of a difference." He grinned, his eyes shining with malice. "These walls are made of paper. So I'd suggest, if you want to leave, go home. Get some sleep. You've had a long night."

Dillon didn't know what to say to that. All he could do was stare. Then nod, then quickly exit. The rest of his team were waiting in the living room.

"Let's go," he murmured in a strained voice. "We should get Antonio's ribs checked out, anyway."

"Is everything—?" Andrew started, but Dillon shook his head.

"Let's go. _Now_." Dillon reiterated, going over to Antonio and throwing his arm over his shoulders again. He made it to the door just as the screaming started.

Despite the screaming, The Phantom heard the door slam shut. Figures. Most who were introduced to torture in this way usually didn't stick around for long. You had to have a certain…personality trait to get into it. To want to do it. Let alone listen to it.

Before everything, he wouldn't have been the torture type, really. But his hatred toward these leeches went much, _much_ deeper than anyone could understand. When it came down to it, he liked hearing them scream. He liked hearing them beg, ask him what he wanted. It reminded him of—

Well, in any case, those memories only fueled his hatred, drawing out their torture. It was pure and simple gratification. He never _wanted_ anything from them. Just their pain and suffering for all the pain and suffering he'd gone through. He was still struggling with.

He liked watching their faces twist in pain, and fear. He liked watching them grit their teeth and try to hold back their screams. The tense of their bodies as the metal knife slowly slid into them. The strain of the wood-based ropes, the red welts that appeared. The sound of their gasping, wheezing breaths for air as their blood supply ran out.

That's when he usually ended their misery. He knew a desperate vampire could get him killed. And even though death was something he prayed for almost every day, going out because he was stupid or reckless around the one thing he hated the most in this world was not how he wanted it to end.

* * *

 **Wow, guys, it's been** _ **quite**_ **a while. I've just been really focused on my PJO story, I haven't really had time to write this one. Also, I hit a** _ **major**_ **writer's block with how to introduce the Ravenscroft family.**

 **Speaking of, the idea actually came to me after watching Black Butler. I really liked the idea of Thierry having a "guard dog" (for those of you who've read/watched the manga/anime), and so decided to borrow that idea from Black Butler and apply it here. I was also using Season 3's first episode of the anime as a reference/outline. I hope I did it well/justice. (If you couldn't tell, my business is** _ **not**_ **my major.)**

 **As for this last scene, I feel it may be…a bit too much? But I hope it actually isn't. You'll understand more and learn about why The Phantom does what he does and is the way he is. Not excusing his actions, but I hope it lessens the blow somewhat. I wrote these notes down during a class one day and on paper it sounded okay. Actually writing it out, I can see how…concerning it could be? Anyway, my point is I hope it isn't** _ **too**_ **much. If there are other trigger warnings you think I could add at the beginning, please feel free to tell me and I'll add them immediately.**

 **Anyway, I do apologize for taking so long. For any of you who may, by some slim chance, still be reading this story. Life happens. I'm not sure when I'll be posting again, but I still do have big plans for this story. So, if you can be patient with me, do stay tuned and stick around. I promise you won't be disappointed.**

 **All right, I think that's all for now. As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


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